Blood of the Earth
by UnrealFox
Summary: China is covered in a thick, light consuming fog that has everyone lost, scared and confused. The Furious Five have lost Master Tigress to the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying while Tai-Lung reunites with his lost family to return to Mongolia and see his mother Wu Xue.
1. Chapter 1

_Dynasty of the Fated and Cursed_

**Blood of the Earth**

_- - -_

_-Introduction-_

_- - -_

The world is not at peace. The Valley, named after that exact aspect, is actually in a complete uproar and nervous about their coming future. The Valley of Peace, and many major outlying provinces have been engulfed in what appears to be an endless sea of fog. Flightless creatures are restricted to low visibility, and no sun light on the ground, while creatures who can see are lost once in the air and above the swirling fog and the clouds. From many reports, China, as far as the eye can see, is covered in fog that is escaping from a maelstrom where the rope bridge, _The Thread of Hope,_ once held together a major trade route for Chinese merchants. From the giant crevice in the land pours the mighty fog that manages to engulf and suffocate the land even during the day. Crops are withering terribly, little to no trading is possible and the villagers, lords, teachers and masters who did have surplus of supplies are now down to their last amounts…

Although even with the fog strangling the land and restricting visibility and travel, the Furious Five give hope to the Valley of Peace and parts of China. As frequent as bandit raids may have been in the past, the number has dwindled due to the cloud cover, but any homestead that falls under attack would never get the word out, nor would any see a signal fire, or smoke trail from a burning village or a recently razed town. But not even the Furious Five have the knowledge or power to stop something such as irregularly bad weather… There is no current knowledge on the maelstrom aside from the source, and there's been no ground, or air militia that has ever gone to the storm… and reported back.

Shifu and other great leaders fear for the worst with this flood of visible air, but all that can be done is to trust in sages, struggle to survive and prey for the well being of the entire nation. Even the Emperor is stumped… The Furious Five, The Dragon Warrior, and the warriors of Sun-Lo; Mei-Ling and Hou-Xin, haven't returned from their mission to rescue Sun-Lo from a raid by the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying either. However long before the team ever reached the city, Tigress deserted the other Jade Warriors, and vanished into the fog and from their graces. With Tigress gone, and their effective team reduced by one, the Jade Warriors marched onto Sun-Lo after discovering that Master Tigress was actually an undercover, but memory wiped, agent of the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying. The knowledge was uncovered by a Japanese iriomote cat named, Sa-Chi, who is a very mysterious merchant and a muscular male panda who owns an inn lost in the fog named 'Wonton Rin'. But they were two days too late to save Sun-Lo and found a ghost town waiting on arrival, and hiding in the ruins of the corpse of the lifeless city was none other than the highly deadly all female organization _Shou-Lie Yin-Ying, the Shadow Hunters._ Hou-Xin was killed by the leader of the Shadow Hunters and that act of war set off a violent battle between the Jade Warriors, and the endless army of black assassins in a fight to the death.

Tigress liberated herself from a life of Kung Fu to embrace her original life as, Ryoko Yatogi, with no true knowledge of who she used to be, but her Shadow Hunter training was slowly coming back through the block placed in her brain. Her first act of returning to her life of murder was to locate and attack another Shadow Hunter to steal her clothing. It was all Tigress could do since she had no idea where the Sanctuary actually was, only the knowledge of it being in Mongolia was her only lead, and that was as vague as saying, _'Trust Yourself'._ On her search for the Sanctuary, or Tai-Lung, Tigress had completely back tracked due to confusion in the fog and reintroduced herself to the Bao Gu Orphanage, the place where she had been left on her mission and the start of her misery. Tigress' fate of exile and neglect carried on for a few short years, but she was eventually adopted by Master Shifu because of the void left behind by the very man she was supposed to kill. Even though she missed her target, she had been left behind in the Jade Palace and was mentored in _Tiger Style Kung Fu_ and began a new life of servitude, conditioning, discipline and patience. And through those years she met her siblings-in-arm's. Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis, and _re-discovered _her _Fire chi._

However, even with her Fire Chi as a secret weapon, Tigress wasn't fully able to defeat and capture Tai-Shen, a black panther who rescued the wounded and dying Tai-Lung after the Wushi Fingerhold. After the Furious Five fought and captured Tai-Shen he revealed himself to be Shen-Mao, the father of Tai-Lung, and the Wu Sisters, who were named Sai-Yue, Reika and Fu-Mai.

The current location of Tai-Lung was unknown after he fled the Jade Palace after his capture, however the Wu Sisters had managed to locate and capture him on his way back to Mongolia. He was stopped before he was able to kill their accomplice Asuka, a lynx with a unique _blood_ _pressure chi_ that changes the color of her fur to either purple or red. The Wu Sisters brought Tai-Lung and Asuka back to their hideout to rest, and after Asuka recovered; she brought back Shen-Mao whom she'd fought and captured before she got into her fight with Tai-Lung; and eventually lost. Lastly, kept save in the Wu Sister's cave was Mitsurugi Kusanagi, the missing second son of Shen-Mao Kusanagi and Xue Wu. Currently the seven of them are en-route to Mongolia to meet with Yue Wu who promises to reunite the Wu and Kusanagi kittens with their mother, while planning on having her own _special _reunion with Shen-Mao.

Sa-Chi managed to return to the Valley of Peace through all the fog, and returned to her old place of business, across the street from Mr. Ping's noodle shop. After hours, or during with slow business days, Sa-Chi managed to meet with Li-Tang, the new panda working for Mr. Ping in replacement of Po. She was a muscular woman, much better structured than the Dragon Warrior, but she has no interest for Kung Fu, or Martial Arts at all. Which is contradicted by her figure, she was designed as though she'd been training in martial arts for years. But without any business coming through the Valley, the iriomote, Sa-Chi had been passing her days with selling at _slightly_ lower prices to anyone who had money. Sa-Chi, in a desperate attempt to make money began selling her own stores of grain, water, wood, ore and cloth after she released the knowledge of actually owning materials but stock was gone in one day, and the her happiness left shortly after… leaving Sa-Chi short on luck and necessary merchandise and leaving her with one final decision; This fog, had-to-go. _Now!_

"Damn it, this sucks!" Sa-Chi groaned, resting her head against Shen-Mao's journal that she'd re-read for at least the eighth time.

Li-Tang laughed, "Well quit reading the part about him falling in love with Xue Wu. You **know** what's going to happen!"

"No not that… even if it does suck. I mean the lack of business!"

"Yeah, no kidding. Mr. Ping hasn't had business this slow _ever_. I've only been working here for a few days, and he tells me that the day he opened he had more work than this." Li-Tang said while idly thumbing through a romance novel that Shifu had brought by and left. It was accidentally stashed in one of the many short stacks of Kung Fu manuals that he'd delivered to _subtly _hint to Li-Tang that '_Kung Fu would be super great to learn'; _or at least that's how Li-Tang can imagine Shifu saying it. But Li-Tang was a grown woman, and Shifu was a lonely old man, and had no idea how to talk to a woman that wasn't Master Tigress or Master Viper. So his hinting was actually louder than if he'd of opened his mouth and told her to her face.

Li-Tang sighed. "You know, this is driving me crazy…"

Sa-Chi looked up from Shen-Mao's journal again. "What?? All the fog?"

"No, all these stupid, _'Joys of Low Blows' _and _'Fundamentals of Face Punching'_ books. That Master Shifu really really wants me to practice Kung Fu so I can be some kind of savior or something… He's even got the villagers trying to egg me into it. It's not workin' though. I, don't fight. I'm a peaceful, fun loving kinda girl."

"You telling me, beating up jerks isn't fun…?"

"Look, everyone here is either a sheep, a duck, a pig, or married... or a wenis. I haven't had a guy touch my ass, wolf whistle at me, or tell me their address and give me the key to their front door. I don't want to scare off the people that actually treat me like I'm just a regular panda, like back home."

Sa-Chi pondered on Li-Tang's thinking for a minute. "Well… this whole Village loves Kung Fu and everyone who practices it. Just the other day I sold a painting of The Furious Five to a few bunny kids."

"How come you can sell stuff of the Furious Five, don't you need marketing rights?" Li-Tang asked, with her finger on her book so she doesn't lose her placement.

"What are marketing rights??"

"I don't know." The panda confessed and returned to reading her book.

"Well all I'm saying is that, perhaps he wants to show you off. I heard that _he_ actually didn't pick the Dragon Warrior to **be** the Dragon Warrior."

"Oh really?" Li-Tang replied while diligently reading, getting to the saucier parts of the romance novel and unable to turn her eyes away. But if there's any one thing a restaurant job will teach, it's how to _multitask_. "Who did he pick?"

"Well…" Sa-Chi spoke, while digging into her kimono, presenting a painting of Tai-Lung, and a painting of Tigress. "First it was the muscular guy over here, Tai-Lung. Shen-Mao's son."

"Cool."

"But according to legend, Tai-Lung was denied for being '_Too Evil'_ or something of the sort and was cast away. Then he went insane, and got locked up. Afterwards. He chose Master Tigress to be the Dragon Warrior and that didn't work out either. Because out of the sky-"

"-Like a ball of fire!" Mr. Ping added from the rear of his shop while he went over his stock.

"Yep, like a ball of flame, Po fell from the sky." Sa-Chi continued, "And _painlessly_ landed in front of Oogway and was declared to be the Dragon Warrior, a Warrior of ultimate promise and might."

"Oh how hot!" Li-Tang began to laugh.

"Wha?" Sa-Chi paused, getting mixed reactions from something being both 'Funny' and 'Arousing'. "You mean the Dragon Warrior?"

"No no! In this book, Yumi is being stripped naked by Hunan-Khan in his tent and sh-"

"Will you put that book away for a minute!!" Sa-Chi interrupted the sex novel. "I'm telling you smarts!" Sa-Chi muttered, putting away her pictures and quickly losing her train of thought.

"Did you just say '_Telling me Smarts?'_ Don't you mean, '_Granting me knowledge'_ or something more intelligent? Or have you been reading Shen-Mao's journal too much, his drunk chapter will make you sound like an idiot if you read it out loud and you've been reading that journal a bit too much…"

Sa-Chi held a paw over her eyes and laugh out loud. "Sorry, sorry … I think…all this fog and no money… is making Sa-Chi go… _something_ … _something_…"

"Uh… Go-Crazy?" Li-Tang added, trying to figure out what was up with Sa-Chi.

"Don't-mind-if-I-**DO!**" Sa-Chi suddenly shouted and got an insane look in her eye as she roared out loud and pulled one of her long katanas out an began slicing at the air, cursing and shouting at the fog surrounding her.

"WHOA!!" Li-Tang shouted and dove under her table, and snaked her novel as an after thought as Sa-Chi went berserk up high. The iriomote roared out and swung her katana swiftly but violently around the restaurant. She didn't hit anyone, or anything, but violently and foolishly using her blade was making her feel _a-lot _better about not making even a note of yuan today.

"DAMN IT FOG! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!" The merchant roared out loud to no one in particular.

"Heey!" Mr. Ping shouted, but he couldn't get through to Sa-Chi who was like a mad woman who wanted fog dead. "Li-Tang!" The duck called out, trying to get in touch with either of the women.

"Yes, Boss??" The panda replied, still utilizing her multitasking by replying and reading at the same time. "What is it?"

"Look up! Look at what Sa-Chi is doing!" Mr. Ping said excitedly.

"I see what she's doing Boss, do you want me to throw her out?" Li-Tang spoke without looking up, a bit more interested in the four way between Yumi and Khan's three bandit buddies.

"No no no! Look up, Li-Tang, look!"

The panda sighed, putting down her debauchery. "Yes boss…" The Panda then poked her head up cautiously over her table to see a clean beam of sunlight casting down on Sa-Chi in a bright growing radius. "Whoa… Sa-Chi how are you doing that?!"

"FUUUUCK!!!" Sa-Chi roared out in blind anger.

"No not that! I don't care how you do that! How are you killing the fog?!" Li-Tang gasped, and before anyone could imagine, the entire restaurant was now glowing with warm sunlight and fresher air… and a pissed off feline swinging a four foot blade around wildly. The store front began to fill, with little pig heads and goat noses and rabbit ears. All manner of civilians were poking their heads in the door to witness the spectacle of sunlight actually being visible in the Valley, which was a rare sight for what felt like at least a week or three. The commotion grew as more and more citizens began to show up and Mr. Ping could see all the money he'd soon be making and put on three pots to boil.

Li-Tang was astounded, "Wow… Sa-Chi you can… kill the fog! That is amazing!" The panda was excited to feel sunlight on her fur and muscles. It brought a warm smile to her face and for once she could finally take a deep breath that actually had a smell to it. It was a fresh, crisp, glorious smell… It was … _awesome._

Sa-Chi's mad blade wielding came to a sudden halt, but apparently before she was ready by the way she growled/gasped when she stopped. "Whaaa? Grr, what happened… I'm not done killing…"

It was Master Shifu, such a sight of a beam of heaven being cast down onto the Valley was _not_ a sight that even a man as old as he would miss, or fail to investigate, and seeing Sa-Chi wildly wielding her weapon he felt the need to intervene.

"Hmm, no." Shifu interrupted, holding Sa-Chi with one paw at her elbow to control the arm, and his other paw at her wrist to control the hand and the blade. "I don't believe you are. But you are done killing here uh… miss…. Um…"

"Sa-Chi …" The iriomote sighed, "Why don't _you_ remember me? Doesn't anyone remember my name around here?" Sa-Chi growled, trying to come down off of rage. "And why are you touching me?"

"To prevent you from swinging that deadly katana anymore. You have a chance of hurting someone innocent, or the new Dragon Warrior." Shifu turned to Li-Tang who had pulled down an eyelid with a finger and stuck out her tongue. "How brash…" He scoffed.

"I'm not learning Kung Fu! I don't want to!" Li-Tang growled.

"I'm not going to kill anyone! I don't want to, either!" Sa-Chi groaned out loud and pulled herself free of Shifu's grasp.

"Well what _are_ you going to do then?" Shifu questioned.

"I'm gunna finish this novel. This foursome is just getting good." Li-Tang commented, picking her book up from the floor.

"Li-Tang! No reading! Time for prep work. Now that there's sunlight, we can serve some food and make some money!"

Li-Tang bit her tongue, "Gah, yes Boss…"

Shifu snorted, he wasn't asking Li-Tang what _she_ was going to do, he was asking Sa-Chi, who had already sheathed her blade and was running towards Mr. Ping's counter.

"Hey! You said money! Can I help?! You need some stock? Perhaps firewo- no I sold all that… Do you need cutlery? Or a Wok? Two Woks? Already boiled water? No… I sold that too… Anything?! I-NEED-MONEY!" Sa-Chi pleaded, on the verge of going _something something _again.

"Um… I can pay you." Shifu interrupted Sa-Chi's bargaining, and immediately, almost faster than he could detect, Sa-Chi was ontop of him.

"PAY ME!" Sa-Chi roared, foaming at the mouth. This scared Shifu, because women, especially Japanese women … were weird. "Mon_E_y!"

"Gah! You haven't worked for it yet!" Shifu gasped, feeling himself being lifted off the ground by a woman gone mad, and he didn't know how to defend himself against women ... he hadn't had the time in between all the training and keeping women off of Tai-Lung to let him train, then later keeping Mantis and Monkey off the women to make them train.

"HOW? YOU KNOW WHAT DO? TELL ME!" Sa-Chi spoke non-sense at Shifu but he _was guessing_ she meant. '_What to do, tell me how?'_ and he replied…

"Gah! Take Blade! Clean Fog! All Valley! Pay Well!" He spoke madness back, hoping his experience in deciphering Tai-Lung's baby talk and Tigress' baby babble for those few short years could aide him here … and it did. Sa-Chi released him and put her hand on her katana and marched at the crowd in the front door like she was going to kill everyone in the Valley.

Shifu hit the ground on both feet sloppily and turned to the citizens, seeing what Sa-Chi was doing. "Hey! Everyone!! Get out of the way. Sa-Chi is going to clean up the fog! Go open your shutter windows and doors, and prepare for a massive wind storm!"

"Wind…" Sa-Chi muttered and left the store.

Li-Tang poked up from out the service window with her apron tied securely around her medium waist. "Hey what's going on?? Where are the customers?"

Mr. Ping was hastily chopping imported Tofu bits. "They're going to watch the merchant kill all the fog. Business is going to explode here soon! Just think of all the hungry, non-zombie depressed customers!"

Li-Tang laughed gently, "Oh yeah, that's gunna be great sir, just great." Big business was only good for the boss and owner, not the employees.

Shifu turned back to Li-Tang. "Um… I know I've said this before, but if you don't like serving food, you can always pra-"

"NO! NO KUNG FU OLD MAN!" Li-Tang argued.

"But why not?! The valley could use a woman with your skill and natural talent! I've seen you work! You have natural skills!" The red panda argued his case to the annoyed female.

"My skills are balancing tabs, remembering orders, service with a smile, and bouncing assh-"

Before either of the pandas had a chance to say any more the sky over the valley began to grow dangerously bright and all of a sudden _exploded_ like a mighty Chinese firework that revealed the entire sky. But there were no fireworks, there wasn't even an explosion, only a very loud roar from the land's fog shifting massively and being consumed. Everyone in the Valley, began shouting in pain at the sudden flash of light that bombarded their eyes, but it was like nothing more than turning on a light once you've been in a dark room for too long. Soon after, the villagers came to see that the fog, had been consumed. The Valley was bright once again and it was apparently mid day, or somewhere near.

Li-Tang, Mr. Ping and Shifu could hear the villagers excitedly chattering amongst themselves, instead of cheering.

"It's gone!" "Wow!" "This is amazing!" Parts of a crowd began to cheer.

"I can see!" "The sun!" "My eyes!! They hurt! It's wonderful!" More began chattering.

"Oh how glorious! The sun!" "Wow! It's mid day? Hey, what time is it??"

"It's uh… let me check the sun dial." There was a pause, and Li-Tang shook her head and picked up a knife to prepare to cut green onions, while Mr. Ping and Shifu listened on.

"Uh… it's 4 o'clock." Replied the Sun-dial checker.

"Pm or am??" Asked the same man.

"The sun is out idiot, what do you think?"

"Then that means it's happy hour at the noodle shop! I'm gunna get _tore up_! Then lay out in the hot sun!"

"Wha…" Li-Tang scoffed. "Who gets _'Tore Up'_ at 4pm, it's absur-" Then came the explosive cheering, before Li-Tang could finish talking. The entire Valley erupted with celebration that matched the one that Po had received when he was reigned in as the Dragon Warrior. Complete with confetti, banners and actual fire works being launched off into the air, and a rousing chant of. '_Sa-Chi!' 'Sa-Chi!' 'Sa-Chi!' _over and over again.

Shifu smiled smugly to turn back to Li-Tang and gloat about how much people love a savior, but he was shocked to see a shocked look on _her_ face, and her knife in the ceiling of the store.

"What…?" Shifu paused. "Am I growing a second head from a third neck or something?"

Mr. Ping glanced up from his prep work to see what Shifu was talking about and glanced over at Li-Tang, then turned his head towards Shifu, and gasped out loud. "STAMPEDE!!"

Shifu turned around to see almost every Villager, even the children, punching through the front of the restaurant, cheering about the sunlight, demanding food and alcohol, probably prepared to pay any price that Mr. Ping could think of too. Warm food, and an a worry forgetting drink was apparently the way the Valley of Peace was going to get back on it's feet now that it could see and breathe clearly. Shifu had managed to quick step the entire Valley running him over but he leapt straight into another problem… Sa-Chi, and her money cravings. And like fly to honey, she was back in Shifu's face and holding out her hand.

Shifu was true to his word and pulled forth his bag of coin but he didn't give it to her just yet. "I have to inspect your work first… you understand."

"…" Sa-Chi was silent, but allowed the infraction and followed the short red panda out of Mr. Ping's shop, with Li-Tang cursing under her breathe and Mr. Ping giggling at the money that was going to be coming in for today, to make up for his slow week.

The Grand Master of the Jade Palace exited the restaurant to witness that entire Valley indeed had been cleansed completely of the fog… not an ounce of fog was resting inside the property of the Valley, even some of the farms had been cut clean of the mysterious wall of haze, but Shifu could clearly see a thick perimeter of fog outside the Valley. It was outside the wall that surrounded the Valley of Peace and outside the property line of the farms and that was it… from there on, was grey haze.

"I'm impressed… But how?"

"My sword…" Sa-Chi sighed and snaked the bag from Shifu's hand and immediately sobered up from her hatred and merrily ambled away to go and count her riches.

"Her sword…" Shifu pondered for a moment. "A blade that can cut through the wind… Absorb the energy of the wind… A wind blade…" He pondered for a long moment… "Just like… The _Sword of Heroes!_"

The red panda spun around quickly. "Sa-Chi!? Ah, Sa-Chi!? Where are you!? I'd like to ask you something!!" But she was gone, the iriomote had taken off with her bag full of coin probably to go bathe in it.

"Damn it…" Shifu muttered to himself and poked his head into Mr. Ping's shop to make a quick check to see if Sa-Chi might be inside but to no luck, and if she wasn't at the restaurant, where she normally did business; then there was no telling where she might have ran off to.

"Well… at least there's hope now… Hope for everyone." Shifu said with a determined smile on his lips, then he quickly turned to the restaurant again. "Unless you'd like to be a HEROINE!"

"I DON'T DO KUNG FU OR HEROINE!" Li-Tang angrily shouted back at Shifu, and the red panda was forced to catch a hot bowl of noodles being thrown at his head.

"Well uh…" Shifu paused, "I … suppose I'll try tomorrow." He glanced down at the bowl, noticing the brown tint to the water. "Oooh Teriyaki! I'd better enjoy this sunlight while it lasts!"

And with those words, Shifu ran off to his favorite place to go think. The Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, hopefully the petals would be falling sense there was an actual breeze and sunlight for the stems to enjoy. Shifu still thought about his students, and his friends even when he ate, he would pray that they were all well and able. When Shifu reached his spot, he sat down and gave grace for his _free_ meal then began eating, but while he did… He thought and prayed for Tigress and Tai-Lung; Praying for their safe return.

He prayed for Hou-Xin and Mei-Ling, hoping they wouldn't find themselves in too much trouble with their untrained minds and bodies.

He prayed for Po, hoping he could keep his mouth shut and his mind focused on the task at hand.

He prayed for Master Viper and Master Crane, for their well being and diligence to see everyone unharmed and happy.

He prayed for Master Monkey and Master Mantis to keep their cruel and lewd jokes to themselves so they could focus on protecting their family and friends, and finally …

Shifu prayed for Shen-Mao and his Master, Oogway…

He knew about Shen-Mao's condition, and knew that his friend would be passing on soon and prayed that when he does make his unnatural return, that he is healthy and successful in his endeavor.

His final prayer for Master Oogway was to continue looking over the Valley and to look over him. Because the scariest thought was not being able to speak to Oogway through the fog, and not being able to protect his town and it's people.

Thankfully the people Shifu had collected over the years as friends and family were just as strong and caring as he.

China will be safe from harm as long as the Jade Warriors live, and Shifu is still breathing. He would surely see to it, and with his mind filled with pleasant thoughts, and his stomach full of a tasty meal, the red panda decided that now was the best time for a nap. Shifu settled against the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom and exhaled deeply.

"Thank you for this tree Master…" As he spoke a gentle breeze, filled with peach tree petals came sweeping over Shifu, as if Oogway was stroking his head to comfort the mildly troubled panda, but it put him to sleep. A well deserved one at that… Shifu would sleep throughout the day, confident that everyone was safe, and the Valley was in no danger.

For now . . .

- - - - -

This is the second _book_, of the '_Dynasty of the Fated and Cursed'_ series.

Time for some of those unanswered questioned to finally be resolved.

Keep in touch and thanks for reading. It's greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dynasty of the Fated and Cursed_

**Blood of the Earth**

_-Chapter 1: You are here, We are there-_

_"I don't have much time, as I am slipping between worlds..._

_All my eyes can see, is that of the endless void beyond that of the living and it betrays the future … _

_What is to come is bloodshed… endless bloodshed and death. _

_I ask myself 'How can a world of peace really be both constructed and razed on a foundation of war, misery and death?' It's beyond my mortal understanding. _

_But as I slip further away from that previous state, I begin to truly understand. _

_The hate, the pain, the death, the violence… _

_It's all necessary… _

_For one action to occur another must unfold… _

_It has been said, to experience joy, you must also experience pain… _

_One without the other isn't how life works, nor is it how the world, which was founded in darkness and chaos, was meant to be experienced. _

_That is why I, must die…_

_From here… I can see why…_

_I can see why all of us will die, but I cannot say how, or when. _

_It's not my place to say such things… _

_All I know is that I truly am in a better place…_

_To experience joy … _

_One must experience pain…_

_To… experience joy … _

_One must… experience pain…_

_Joy…_

_To experience… joy … _

_One …must… experience…pain…_

_Meiyou tongku meiyou xiyue _

_Weile you shengming de, Bixu si… _

_..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

"_In order to have life, we must die. Goodbye lion…_"

The Shadow Hunter leader silently whispered as her followers shoveled dirt onto Hou-Xin's grave. It was the only grave being dug and filled here tonight in Sun-Lo, for even though all their hearts were fueled with hate and rage… No one could kill any of the Shadow Hunters who were responsible, and even though their leader had been attacked, bloodied and bruised, she'd refused to have the captured remains of the Furious Five, the mountain cat or the Dragon Warrior executed.

They had lost the fight and all had been captured. The Shou-Lie Yin-Ying didn't harm the Jade Warriors after the battle but the leader commanded that they all be properly restrained and to the Jade Warrior's surprise; they were bound by _Elemental Spheres_ that were very similar to the ones that had been placed on Tai-Lung and Shen-Mao weeks ago. Although the only difference between then and now was that these elemental spheres _actually_ worked… and couldn't be easily destroyed.

Master Viper's body had been bound in at least seven places. Due to her species, she couldn't truly be bound to prevent her movement, but the weight and pressure could at least make moving seven times harder and actually _painful_ to do. Which the pain was very apparent at the dull rage that hung in the back of her seductive eyes. Anyone who didn't know that Viper was in pain would have thought she was trying to resist the urge to sleep, but she was merely tolerating her inconvenient shackling, contemplating her loss and preparing for whatever prison was in store since death wasn't apparently on the menu tonight.

Master Monkey had been bound a lot harder than Viper even though her entire body was shackled. Monkey's arms had been consumed in giant elemental spheres that were large enough to touch his elbows even though the center was based at his palms. However, due to his own chi, the spheres were repelling one another like two equally charged magnets. To make matters even worse, the orbs felt at least seventy pounds, and constantly trying to escape the others magnetic radius. Only once did he say he felt as though he was being '_Drawn and Quartered'_, but his complaint fell on deaf ears on all sides. Like Viper before him, Monkey wasn't going to complain anymore than he already had. It was true that his tail and legs were completely free of shackling but his jailors knew that if the Monkey exerted force that _wasn't_ dedicated on remaining lying on his back and staring at the sky; his own arms would be torn from his body due to the heavy magnetic charge carried by both spheres.

Master Mantis, at first, managed to stay hidden from the Shadow Hunter's, but his chi eventually gave away his location and in an act of rebellion against the surrender, Mantis attempted to shatter the elemental spheres that bound his allies, however he failed.

In punishment, he was to be trapped inside one of the dreaded spheres. But to keep the warrior alive, the sphere was partially hollow with holes drilled in three areas on the same hemisphere. Air holes for his tomb, but it looked more like a bowling ball than anything else. Master Mantis conceded after he was trapped, he realized that his chi couldn't affect unnatural metals and the sphere was spiritually fused by the Hunter's, effectively locking away control. Occasionally a sigh would escape his bowling ball prison, but that was all the rebellion he had in him. He was conserving his energy for the eventual escape. He was a lot faster than these women were giving him credit for, and his vengeance wasn't gone, not in the least. His surrender was only a prelude to his counter-attack, of course... _when_ he was going to counter attack he… actually didn't know.

Of everyone shackled Mei-Ling was enjoying it the least. She was bound by her wrists, by one large elemental sphere that she held in front of her legs while she kept her head hanging between her knees. The mountain cat was sitting on the ground, wallowing in self guilt and probably thinking the worst about herself with every passing second. She hadn't muttered a word after Hou-Xin fell and the fight started. But when she saw the others being knocked flat and captured, she attempted to fight harder to somehow redeem herself. She wanted them to die, all of them, to pay for Hou-Xin's death. However there wasn't that much hate in Mei-Ling's heart, and she knew revenge couldn't beget revenge. So her strikes didn't puncture and tear like they could have, and she was overwhelmed and was forced to surrender when Crane did. Afterwards, she sat down, placed her head between her raised knees and kept quiet.

But of all the Masters trapped and bound by the Shadow Hunters, unsurprisingly, Po was enjoying it the most. Po had been bound by his feet and his mouth, although it wasn't with elemental bounds… His _Force chi_, dissolved the painful tingling of the material meeting with flesh and fur so instead of continuing to use stronger and stronger compounds; The Shou-Lie Yin-Ying bound him with rope and cloth. And when the Dragon Warrior ceased to quit asking questions _even_ against the threat of death; he was gagged with elemental spheres… then later, more cloth, because he managed to _eat_ the elemental spheres placed in his mouth to keep him quiet.

The Shadow Hunter's weren't very impressed with the Dragon Warrior at first since _he_, had been put down just as swiftly as the '_Furious Four'_ however the main reason for their continued existence surely wasn't for their combat abilities. They had been defeated too quickly to be considered valuable in that sense. The army of cloaked assassin's were still in place; Which most would find strange because their enemies were captured and bound. It was true that the Jade Warriors had been quickly defeated, however the wounded assassin count was nearly 200 in only thirty-five, or so, minutes of _actual _combat with no fatalities on either side except for the fallen lion that stared the entire battle, but that wasn't the reason the legion remained. The captured warriors, even when they escape, weren't the problem.

The Assassin's were still poised because of one man, the self appointed leader, Master Crane.

The Dragon Warrior and his allies wouldn't attack unless he gave the signal, it was his call… and that was reason enough to stay. As a unit, the Jade Warriors were far too dangerous, but once one of them fell to capture in combat, the fight tipped back into the hands of the Shadow Hunters.

.

Master Crane was the only of the Jade Warriors that was _unbound_ by the Shadow Hunters, and it wasn't by choice. He was singled out to remain unbound as some sort of example. He didn't completely understand it yet, but _that_ was the only reason he hadn't declared a counter attack yet. He, and his allies, were praised for their combat prowess, regardless of how swiftly they were dismantled. The rune baring leader of the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying had praised them personally, while her minions merely chortle and snicker from their shifting shadows. The leader saw exactly what potential all of them were harboring and desperately wanted it, but there would have to be some diplomacy before any conditions could be discussed. Master Crane wasn't badly wounded, nor were his allies which aided her case, but Hou-Xin's death would hinder it more.

The only visible wounds were the ones that had been stabbed into their pride. The Five had been reduced to four and stomped out, it was a shameful defeat.

Mind you, the Dragon Warrior didn't feel as much anguish in his defeat as the others did, because the innocent whimsy in his brain couldn't be smothered out by '_death' _and_ 'dishonor',_ or at least not completely. Po was in the presence of fighting styles, deadly weapons, extraordinary chi's and legendary murderers from ages and ages ago… He was in '_Butt Whup Heaven'_ and could apologize about his behavior later. But he was snapped out of his day dreaming by diplomatic words.

"_Well Master Crane… You have the floor, and the jury is ready to hear what you have to say."_ The leader of the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying spoke and stepped up to the White Crane. His hat lightly rolled from one shoulder to the center of his back as a cold gust came rolling by the two of them. Master Crane's eyes were cold and full of disgust. She could tell that there would be no easy way to get what she wanted from the crane and the alternative **always** yielded bad results.

"You have done your part of our bargain… and I'm grateful … Even though you killed my _brother_ Hou-Xin. You fulfilled my wish and gave him an honorable burial… I have no further demands and we will submit to capture with the condition that the women aren't harmed." Crane spoke clearly and strong, showing that he was a true leader.

"_Oh, we don't harm women, never have. Our master would be furious."_ She said with a sinister smile on her fangs, clearly showing every intention of treachery, the exact opposite of what Crane was doing.

"Why are you smiling…?" Crane muttered, his feathers ruffled by this woman's audacity. "I'm not telling jokes, so be serious about this engagement, because I'm not going to lose my focus like you'd hope."

"_Hmm perceptive? I'm starting to admire that wonderful White Crane Kung Fu. It's taught you a lot, hasn't it Master Crane?"_ The leader said, stepping closer to the bird, holding out her gloved hand to touch the tip of Crane's beak. He responded with a sudden peck that her hand barely managed to avoid.

The horde of Shadow Hunter's shifted slightly, all the women assassins preparing to leap upon Master Crane and tear him apart, but the Shadow Hunter leader didn't command them to attack, and the horde held their ground.

"…" Crane didn't need to speak to reveal the heat and fury that was raging in his heart and was continuing to grow.

"_My my… touchy."_ Responded the leader as she returned her paw to her side, but only to attempt to touch Crane for a second time which this instance wasn't met with retaliation. Not at all to the surprise of the Shadow Hunter leader.

"_Hmm, you are well trained aren't you? I would have broken your neck if you had attempted to peck at me again."_

"I could perceive that much…" Crane said with a huff in his voice, hating the fact that a murderer's paws felt both soft and corrosive at the same time. He wanted to preen his feathers and bathe until his bones were sparkling clean.

"_Well if you're so observant Master Crane, then tell me… Why haven't we killed you yet?"_ The Hunter questioned him, with a clear tone of interest and deceit in her voice.

"You won't kill us because you _need_ us."

"_You are correct, we do. But why? Can you tell me that?"_

Crane closed his eyes as the both the Hunter's paws rose to his beak, and he let his neck go limp. Slowly, the Hunter turned his head to one side then again to the other, slowly simulating breaking his neck again, although without stiffness and resistance present, Crane came to no harm, causing the Shadow Hunter to laugh.

"_You're starting to scare me Master Crane, how did you know?"_

"That you were going to paralyze me?" Crane's limp head spoke, "Your hands are soft, but they're the hands of a killer… I can feel the malice coursing through them, I bet Hou-Xin could feel it too right before you slit his throat."

The Hunter backed away, properly feeling insulted, and Crane returned his neck to an upright position.

"…_I see. So answer my previous question. Why do we need you **–alive-**?"_

"To get back Ryoko Yatogi … our Master Tigress, because I expected to see her here."

"_What?"_ The Hunter paused, then began to laugh. _"So you mean Ryoko isn't waiting in ambush??"_

"No." Crane responded mildly, now feeling nervous that his guess was wrong.

"_Well then, I suppose we should just kill you now then, huh?"_

"Wait…" Crane paused, "What about Tai-Lung, aren't you after him? Or Shen-Mao?"

"_They are not of my concern Crane… and you're too smart to** not **know what we want from you and your friends."_

Master Crane paused for a moment, thinking about it or possibly what they could want… but nothing came to mind immediately until Mei-Ling finally decided to speak.

She didn't lift her head when she did, but everyone could hear her clearly.

"Crane… they didn't kill me or Viper because we're your bargaining chips. Without us, they couldn't persuade you into giving up your seed to preserve their dark way of life."

Master Viper's eyes flared and she began to terribly slither towards the leader of the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying and Master Crane shouting, "No! NO! NO! That is… NOT happening!!"

Master Monkey and Master Mantis began laughing from their shackled positions. "What?!" The both of them said in unison.

"Oh that's gold!" Monkey began laughing hard. "Oh I'd better stop laughing, the vibrations are moving the balls and if they move too much-haha- I'll be torn in half."

Mantis laughed from inside his orb prison. "Oh no don't damage those balls Monkey, it's what these crazy women want, after all."

Po laughed from where he was sitting, but rather weakly. "So wait, we're not dying??"

Monkey chuckled, "No we probably will. You see all these girls? I need a mint…" Monkey paused to laugh again, but suddenly turned to Po noticing that he could speak. "Hey wait, did you eat your gag again?"

Mantis' orb rolled in one direction from the movement inside, clearly the Master falling over from hilarity. "Yeah, and there's probably more back at home Po. It's surely our death, death by Snu-Snu."

Po wanted to scratch his head. "What the hell is snu-snu? And I eat when I get nervous… sorry."

Crane shook his head, slightly feeling better knowing that everyone on his team still had vitality and their personalities still in check… well at least everyone but Mei-Ling, she would need time.

"_Your friend is well educated in the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying's way of life. But she's correct."_ The Shadow Hunter spoke with a smile, _"Not killing any of my women, and surviving our attacks is impressive. You men would serve as perfect hosts for future breeding."_

"Hey, I like the sound of that." Monkey laughed.

"Monkey…" Viper hissed while attempting to move to bite him.

"_If you refuse, we'll kill all of you on the spot. I've already killed your brother… I have no gripes about killing the rest of you."_ Spoke the Shadow Hunter, giving Crane and his friends the ultimatum.

"Do it for the football team Crane!" Mantis shouted from inside his orb.

Master Crane, however was oddly silent. He'd dedicated his entire life to Kung Fu after he left Sun-Lo to study. Mei-Ling inspired him to make a proper man of himself and take up the art so he could better his life and completely redeem himself for being a push over and a janitor. Sweeping up teeth, mopping away blood and constantly bowing to the phrase 'Dirt-bag' and 'Maid' never pleased him, and when he discovered his natural talent for 'kickin butt' he embraced it like it was a golden apple straight from the palm of heaven. All his life, even while he was a Kung Fu Master, he was always a second behind … A minute late … The 'Go To' Guy instead of 'Head Man In Charge' … But with his training came patience, a humble feature that most men learned after being bested by their seniors and superiors…

All those years he was always obeying orders instead of making his own, developing himself and straining his thin bones to better undertake the unrealistically difficult and taxing missions from Shifu and Master Tigress. But here he was, the man, the law, he was number one now… and he had to now deal with the difficult choices that a leader is frequently faced with. His entire life of Kung Fu was now standing on a ledge, a thin plank dangling over an endless life of servitude to assassins, or sudden death.

_Not really a hard choice…_

"What will you do with Mei-Ling and Master Viper if we submit to you."

"We're submitting? We can still fight Crane! We can beat these gals!" Po shouted from the back, but the Mantis ball swiftly shot into Po's face from a kick by Master Monkey.

"Keep it quiet Monochrome, we're not actually in that great of a position where we could survive, even _IF_ we broke out." Monkey sighed deeply, a bit disappointed in the Dragon Warrior.

Mantis merely groaned from inside the orb, not prepared to be an actual bowling ball.

"We won't harm them." The Hunter said, politely and disrespectfully curtseying before Master Crane.

Crane frowned for a moment but Mei-Ling interrupted again. "Crane… just do it. They'll pamper us and squeeze you men for everything you've got… It's how they live. Nurture the women, kill the men."

Crane turned back towards the Shadow Hunter and held up a wing. "One moment…"

"_You don't have much time, bird… decide swiftly."_

Crane approached Mei-Ling and Master Viper, the both of them glanced up at the bird together. Viper's eyes were filled with both worry and rage, but Mei-Ling had been crying. The soft fur under her cheeks were soaked with tears and her heart was clearly broken, anyone with eyes could see that. She was a mess and all she wanted was to somehow make things better, so the most she could do was use what knowledge she had to save everyone else.

"Crane… y-you can't do this… I thought you-" Viper began to stammer but Crane cut her off, placing the tip of his beak to the tip of her slightly upturned lips.

"I have to… If it means keeping you safe, I'll do it without thinking."

Viper was speechless for a long moment, but she suddenly frowned and flexed all the muscles of her length as hard as possible to _gently_ slap Master Crane in the crotch.

Crane, Po, and Monkey all were silent afterwards, or at least Crane attempted to be past coughing and panting from being blasted in the jewels.

"SEE THAT?!" Viper then shouted to all the Assassin's, "I TOUCHED HIM FIRST! HE'LL ALWAYS BE MINE!"

Po tried to look another direction. "Uh… wow… ok."

Mantis' bowling ball shook, "What-what-WHAT? What happened? Viper touched what? His _Johnson_? Way to go Crane!"

"_Amusing stunt…" _The Shadow Leader spoke, as Crane returned. _"So I'm assuming we're in agreement?"_

"Heh… uh, yeah. Yes… I mean, we are." Crane said, lightly wiping sweat from his brow, but he straightened up for negotiation one more time. "On two conditions."

"_More complications??" _ The Hunter sighed deeply.

"Yes, One, you already know. If at any point, Viper _OR_ Mei-Ling is harmed. We'll retaliate."

"_Interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind… Although I've never seen a man actually argue wh-"_ The Hunter paused. "Never mind, what's your second condition?"

"Show me your face, and tell me your name."

"_Now I'm flattered." _The Hunter Leader chuckled, _"Alright then Mr. Perceptive. Here I am…"_

Slowly the Shadow Hunter Leader peeled away her mask. The Shadow Hunter's robes are meant to conceal the wearer and provide a ghostly gate for weapons. As long as the Hunter wore the cape, they had access to an unlimited arsenal of whatever melee weapon they could comfortably imagine existed. But their appearances weren't hidden without the mask. A Shadow Hunter's mask would hide the complexion and eat the pigmentation from the wearer's fur, down to their feet, and the mask naturally absorbed light within. Therefore as long as the robes were worn, a Shadow Hunter was anonymous and infinitely armed. But once the mask is removed, the affect ends, and if the cape is destroyed, their armory is affectively cut off.

This woman, however, was different. The mask and cape were still the same, but to the knowledge of those who fear the Shadow Hunters, there has never been trademark features about a hidden hunter that would allow you to distinguish one hunter from the next, aside from the marking lying on the cape themselves. This woman was different… Her hands took a hold of the hood and pulled away her disguise, burning off the affects of the being hidden. Her grey fur immediately bled into a bright orange shine, revealing her soft, yet sinister expressions. She was a Corgi with black tipped ears and black spots on each side of her muzzle like that of a fox. Although the most distinguishing feature about the Corgi was her eyes. Like most Corgi's hers were completely black, but the pupil in the center was huge and at times, it appeared to be smoking like that of a Chinese firework or fog machine… none the less, she was beautiful like mostly all of the Shadow Hunters but with that beauty came infinite ruthlessness and lies.

"Well, here I am? Impressed?" She laughed.

"You didn't tell me your name…" Crane mouthed, barely able to speak for a moment.

"Oh, I suppose I didn't… You may call me Yoshi… Ai-Yori Yoshi. Now come along, it's a long way back to the Sanctuary, and our master should be very pleased with you four."

"_Are you coming home...?" _A ghostly voice wisped through Shen-Mao's ears, to stroke his brain.

"_I don't see how you can invite me… after what I've done." _Shen-Mao fearlessly replied, knowing exactly who it was.

"_It can be forg-"_

"_No it cant!" _The snow leopard shouted in his mind.

"_It can."_

"_How? Why?"_

"_Because I still love you… You re-taught me to love… You taught me how to be happy."_

"_I can't believe that… Your life was perfect before I got there…Yue was happy. You weren't vomiting or constantly checking over your shoulder before I arrived. How many times did you have to lie to your followers about my presence? I did all I could to hide but I sometimes made things worse… and after I was gone I…"_

"_No. When you left, things got worse than you could imagine… I know my sister has been after you, wanting to kill you. She wants to present me with your head… I love my sister, but I love you more. You were my husband once Shen-Mao…" _Xue's voice gently stroked Shen-Mao's brain, her presence introducing a cold chill to anyone nearby.

"_Xue I'm sorry… I…"_

"_Don't apologize, just please come back to me… I miss you… I love you."_

"_But how? I ran from you, I thought you were going to kill me, and Setsuna. That's why I fled… I had no idea you would have left me to live, and you revived our son Mitsurugi."_

"_How could you? You wouldn't talk to me for the entire week after the kittens were conceived and I was too exhausted to do anymore than breast feed them and sleep."_

"_Xue…" _Shen-Mao sighed.

"_Shen-Mao, please, I need you."_ The distant snow leopard pleaded, slowly invigorating her mate's unconscious figure.

"_I can't… Adamesk has my heart…"_

"_You gave me your heart long ago… Why won't you return to me?"_

"_Because I would die again, and only bring more pain Xue… Adamesk has my life in his hands, and I've been abusing the time he's given me to live… He wants Vekka dead and is only giving me one more chance… I have to take it."_

"_Shen…"_

"_I'm sorry Xue. I love you, but … I can't forgive myself for what I've done to you, and our kittens…They're taking me to your sister but-"_

"_No! Not Yue, she'll kill you Shen..."_

"_I know Xue… I wish I could see you… but I'd be dead by the time I got to you…"_

"_Shen…"_

"_Xue… I'm sorry… I can't."_

"…_Shen…"_

.

.

* * *

.

.

"I'm sorry…" Shen-Mao muttered, he wasn't very audible however it was enough for someone to hear him.

"Wha?? Awake finally?" One of the Wu sister's spoke rising from a titami mat that had been set out earlier. "Hey, dad's up." The hooded leopardess spoke, prodding one of her siblings who merely mumbled in her sleep without waking up.

"Apple core… mhhrr hhmmrrr… Who's your friend…" The sleeping sister muttered.

The first sister laughed lightly and prodded her other sleeping sister. "Hey, Fu. Dad's up, want to talk to him?"

And like the first, she mumbled in her sleep as well. "This…is my road… when I'm in it… murr…"

"You girls are impossible." The _eldest_ sister laughed to herself. She gave up on trying to wake anyone else. Asuka and Mitsurugi had gone to sleep long ago in the back of the cave and like Shen-Mao; Tai-Lung was also in a deep sleep almost something like a trance. Although the Shen-Mao was at least showing signs of waking, Tai-Lung gave no such indication.

Sai-Yue, the _oldest,_ Wu Sister rose to her feet and analyzed the cave, while glancing over her fidgeting father lying on the other side of the small fire they had constructed in this new hiding place. Like before, this _new _hiding place was another cave a lot like the last one. Caves were common for the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying to hide in when they needed to rest and ever sense she was a little girl, Sai-Yue loved caves and the mountains, so whenever possible she would find an abandoned cave or an actual Shadow Hunter alcove to hide in. She enjoyed the dark, damp, smelly caves, and she especially enjoyed the cold. But not everyone else, Shen-Mao and Tai-Lung, despite being Snow Leopards, _didn't _live in Mongolia, and instead became conditioned to a warmer and regularly shifting climate aside from the normal low temperatures of their home land. So to keep her missing father and brother warm, she constructed a fire in the cave and tore a small hole in the ceiling of the cave to provide a vent. This was done so no one would inhale too much smoke from the open flame since none of the children had _fire chi. _

Sai-Yue had placed Shen-Mao and Tai-Lung on one side of the flame while her and her sisters rested on the other so everyone would be _comfortable_ and close to the fire's warm glow. Mitsurugi and Asuka however were further back in the cave, warming each other with their own bodies. Asuka, being a lynx, was clearly not one of Shen-Mao's children and she wasn't originally apart of Xue's army, instead she was an operative with Yue's forces, but after a few encounters with Mitsurugi, she began to fall in love with the only living male within the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying, and as a condition of being with him, she betrayed Yue's army and began working with the Wu Sisters.

Sai knelt down beside her father who was still apologizing to the wind.

"What are you sorry about baba…? Leaving us? Leaving Mama? Or something else…?"

"Xue…" Shen-Mao muttered.

"Our entire family talks in their sleep," Yue nervously laughed, then turned to one side, thinking about what Shen-Mao had just said. "He's talking about Mama…"

Was what Shen saying true? '_Could he be talking to our mother right now?'_ If it were true, then she knew she probably shouldn't wake Shen-Mao right now, for fear that he'd miss something important and try to take it out on her… and she would hate to kill her father so soon.

So instead of waking her newly discovered baba, she sat next to him on his mat and began stroking the black hair on the back of his head, but the minute her paw touched his head she felt the cold presence of a paw grabbing her own, and another wrapping around her head to press down against her mouth, effectively muffling her nervous gasp.

'_Who the hell?!'_ Sai-Yue thought and glanced down to see Shen-Mao had completely gone missing, and black hands attacking her. She quickly put two and two together and decided that her father was pissing her off.

She seamlessly pulled free of both his hands and rolled onto her back, supporting her head with her hands and kicked her feet upward to take the black panther's head in a tight hold between her shin's and throw him to the floor.

The panther came down to the cave floor and was immediately pounced by all three Wu's sisters quickly waking up and attacking the infiltrator. Although Sai-Yue backed away and commanded that her sisters back down.

"Chill out girls, chill… It's just baba. He's not a lurker." Sai spoke with a half disbelieving sigh.

"Wha??" Reika growled, holding Tai-Shen by two braids and chewing on one of his ears.

"It is?" Fu-Mai mumbled, wiping sleep from her eyes with one paw and holding her two of her fingers over his eyes prepared to poke them from the sockets.

"Yeah, it's him, he's just… strange now. I hope you can explain this father…"

Tai-Shen, the black panther in question, began to chuckle. "S-sorry girls. I didn't mean to attack you Sai, I just woke up."

Reika spit out her father's ear, "Yeah so did we… and you don't taste like make up, when did you get so black and old, weren't you like … 49 the last time we saw you?"

"Something like that." Shen-Mao said, cringing with Fu-Mai's clawed fingers still resting infront of his eyes. "Um, Fu? Can you not do that?"

"Huh?" She spoke and accidentally poked the black panther.

"Gah!"

"Sorry baba." She said with a ditzy smile.

"It's… ok… sorry for waking all of you."

"Yeah yeah," Reika grunted, "You can start the apology with explaining why you attacked Sai, and why you're dark as night. What is that called anyway '_Black Magic'?"_

"Shh, Reika… Let him explain himself." Sai-Yue said as she cautiously took a seat on the other end of the flame, glaring at her father with fierce green teal eyes.

"Well I was talking to your mother… She decided to contact me sense you've all found me. With you all being so close by, the connection to my chi must have been magnified enough for her to find me and invade my sleep."

Sai-Yue, didn't speak but she was listening. Fu-Mai yawned and placed her head on Tai-Shen's shoulder, clearly showing no worry or caution and Reika on the other side of the black panther did the same thing, being a lot bolder than her sisters as where Fu-Mai just didn't care.

"She never explained it to us, but we found it out. Yue can't contact us when we get too far away, and Mama can't contact us if we're not collected as a family. Well, as long as I'm with Fu, Reika, or Mitsurugi, Mama can talk to me, but it's rare she does."

"Do you know where your mother is?" Tai-Shen questioned, turning to his two daughters sleeping on each of his shoulders and gently hugged them and began stroking their heads and ears. "Your sisters don't seem to fear me."

"None of us fear you, baba. Mitsurugi loves you even though he only met you yesterday… I barely remember you but… I think I can trust you. Mother never said anything horrible about you, she was just sad that you left."

"…I know… I'm sorry Sai, I would have never left if I'd of known that she wasn't going to execute me and my so-… your brother."

"You mean Setsuna? No … Mama wasn't going to do anything like that but, after you left. Aunt Yue left too, with a lot of the family."

"The family? You mean the other assassin's, right?"

"Yeah…" Sai-Yue said silently, as if the memory was painful for her.

"Well… don't talk about it if it upsets you Sai… I never meant to hurt any of you either, I was stupid back then. I'm probably still stupid."

"You were stupid for attacking me. Now tell me why you're black and old, is that apart of your camouflage?"

"Something like that…" Tai-Shen said, holding up an arm and rolling it to take a quick glance at the integrity of his bandages and the condition of his black, unkempt fur. "Adamesk gave it to me."

"You mean the deity? He grants you gifts?" Sai spoke with some shock in her voice at the realization that something so material could be bestowed on someone by a blood god. "I … didn't know they did that. All Vekka does is possess your mind over time... and make you go completely…"

"Insane. Yeah, I saw it once when I was with your mother… But, I had this disguise not so much given to me, but made… It's a full body _chi_ scar, and retaining most of the _rapid aging_ that Yue had put on me. It allows me to completely simulate an aged version of myself, complete with altered abilities and personality."

"Rapid aging??" Sai-Yue said with a confused blink in her eyes. "How is that?? Yue?? Why would… … oh…"

"Yeah… _Ji-Ju Shou-Xian_ _Chi, _She used it on me to kill me without actually hurting me. I'm sure Xue didn't want me harmed, but it was the perfect way to kill me, although I was already following under Adamesk when it happened, and because I'd gone for too long without drinking blood in tribute to my lord… I was automatically killed and my heart was brought to him as punishment."

"… Wow, I see… Well then, _he_ sent you back?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Why?"

"To kill his wife."

"His wife…? Who, here?? In this realm?"

"No. God's aren't able to fight one another, to kill a god, you have to kill their followers, all of them…"

"A God …Baba? You can't mean..."

"No… I'm not going to kill your aunt, but I am going to kill Vekka. Adamesk gave me the task of killing a god, and if I complete it, I get my heart back. But when Setsuna died, I had to revive him… it took a lot out of me, and the time I have left…" Tai-Shen sighed deeply.

"Baba… You can't leave." Sai-Yue said with a growl in her voice.

"Baby… even if I didn't want to, I'd have to go anyway… I _have_ to _kill_ Vekka, and I can't do it alone, or easily."

"Well how ARE you going to do it? Man can't kill gods! And you can't kill Aunt Yue, there's too many of her followers and they're better trained than you are… no offense baba."

"None taken, hell you three out match me easily. Even one on one, I can see the strength in you." Tai-Shen said, leaning forward and past the flame to stoke Sai-Yue's cheek.

"I wish you would have been around when I was a kitten baba…" Sai spoke, leaning into Tai-Shen's paw, enjoying the caress of her father's hand. It did feel strange to feel his paw against her cheek for the first time in forty years but there was no mistaking that the snow leopard hiding under a panther's fur was indeed; her father.

"Me too, Sai… me too. I regret running away, every day. I know I could never make it up to you, your brothers or your sisters. I don't deserve your love."

"It's hard to love you, but it's hard to hate you too. So if you _are_ going to leave… Promise to come back, and at least wait around for Mitsurugi to wake up to see you fully awake. He carried you all the way here after all."

Tai-Shen sighed deeply, thinking about how little time he had until he fully dissolved and returned to Adamesk but, none the less he agreed to stay. Fu-Mai had fully fallen over and fell asleep with her head in Tai-Shen's lap while Reika remained upright against her father's shoulder. Holding onto Tai-Shen's arm in her sleep and not fully letting go.

"Baba?" Sai-Yue spoke again, getting comfortable on the mat that she'd taken from Tai-Shen after throwing him.

"Tell me about Mama… When you two were together. She used to tell us stories when we were little kittens but as the years went on, she got quieter and wouldn't smile nearly as much."

"Oh?"

"Yes, father tell us some stories. It's been a while sense I've heard a good story." Mitsurugi spoke as he approached from the rear of the cave, with large scratch marks in his chest.

Tai-Shen's cheeks filled with a blush as he noticed the scars, _knowing_ those scars are from women and **not** combat. "Heh heh so you're awake too son?"

"Mmrrh… me.. too…" Reika mumbled in her sleep.

"Whoa, you too Reika, or are you sleep-talking? Our family is infamous for that." Tai-Shen said gently nuzzling Reika's head as Mitsurugi took a seat next to his unconscious brother, who slowly woke up from smelling his woman scented brother being so close by.

"Ugh… what's that smell… Who's been wrestling with cats?" Tai-Lung muttered as he sat up, turning to his _near_ twin-brother. "Who are you?"

"That's your missing brother, Setsuna." Tai-Shen said with a smile.

"Y-you?! Old man! What are you doing here?! Wait… I remember, so you really did follow me!" Tai-Lung said, pointing an accusing finger.

"Yeah, I did. You challenged me, and stole my pendant. I was coming for you, no matter what. Now that all of you are up, I'll tell you about my life with your mother." But as Tai-Shen finished his sentence he was lightly tagged in the back of the head by a purple hand.

"Hey, not all of your kids are awake old man. I takes a whole lot of shouting to get Fu up." Asuka spoke, walking past Tai-Shen and over towards Mitsurugi and Tai-Lung, sitting down in the lap of the darker of the two snow leopards, which was Mitsurugi. His frame was just as large as Tai-Lung's, but he had far more rough edges about his fur, smaller but sharper fangs raising from his jaws and bright orange eyes like that of the camp fire between all of them. Mitsurugi also had more fur leading down the back of his head and shared Shen-Mao's appearance a bit more, than Tai-Lung's, who looked more like Shen-Mao's brother and father than Tai-Lung did.

"Yeah… you would know how much shouting it takes to wake us up, Asuka… and I don't ever want to wake up like that again… Understood?" Sai-Yue growled to both Asuka and her brother.

The both of them nodded and bowed, clearly afraid of Sai-Yue whenever she frowned.

Tai-Shen was impressed with Sai and laughed. "Ok so how do you wake up this one? Rei got right up but…"

"Breakfast." Sai-Yue said, standing up, and Fu-Mai's ears perked up immediately.

"Food?" The purple eyed Wu Sister said, with her eyes half open and crust collecting in the corners.

The group all began to laugh.

"Where's the food?" Fu began glancing around, but once she saw Tai-Shen, the immediately knew and remembered it was her father. "Baba!!"

"Hey F-AAH!!" Tai-Shen shouted as his _youngest_ daughter hugged him tightly around the neck. Hard enough to force away his dark fur and return Shen-Mao to the present, making the childish Wu Sister back away. "Aah! How'd you do that baba??"

Reika glared, sniffing at Shen-Mao's fur. "Yeah … it's still him. What the hell are you doin wearing more than one fur old man?"

Shen-Mao laughed and scratched his head, "It's a long LONG story girls. Now if you all will quit with the questions and listen, I'll tell my side of the story, and fill you in a little more on your mom and when we were married, ok?"

Everyone present, even Asuka, nodded in agreement. Tai-Lung was a bit weary of Asuka since she'd been quite adamant on killing him and his father but ever since she'd been in the presence of Mitsurugi and the Wu Sisters, she hasn't made a move to so much as even say '_Boo, I'm gunna eat you'_. But Tai-Lung put his woes to rest as Shen-Mao began telling the history of him and Xue, all the way up to the day they were all born and the weeks within where he left, and hid Setsuna in plain sight in the Valley of Peace under Shifu's care.

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* * *

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"SHIFU!!!" The shouts and cries of the people had been echoing across the Valley almost all day. "SHIFU!!" The cries started around mid-morning when a farmer was unable to return to his crops after he'd noticed that the lurking fog that had been cleansed the day before had returned and thicker than before. "SHIFU!!" The newer fog hadn't consumed the entire Valley just yet, only the outskirts, but it was visibly encroaching on the farmland and the streets of the Valley of Peace by the hour with literally no sign of stopping. With the fog being thicker, it was impossible for Villagers to actually _see_ through the fog now, before it had only been general discomfort and haziness in the air, now the fog was more like thick dark clouds that you could almost feel burning your fur as you walk through them.

"SHIFU!!" Another villager called out for the Grand Master, a large group of concerned villagers had ventured up the stairs to the Jade Palace and were banging on the door to the training hall in a weak attempt at getting Shifu's attention, but the red panda had already saw, and knew what the villagers were going to shout about.

"…" Shifu was in the lonely Jade Palace, only a few ducks and pigs could be seen wandering the halls. Their workload had been severely cut back due to the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior hanging around for only a few hours when they were still within prayer… However the only jobs that have been getting done were contractors repairing the Hall of Heroes and that was all… Shifu had no real excuse for ignoring the Villagers and their cries except for the obvious one…

Doubt…

The Grand Master of the Jade Palace had no idea what to do. Sa-Chi had taken a sudden leave of absence to go count her money and would more than likely be lost for a few days before Shifu could locate her again, and even if he were able to get in touch with Sa-Chi, her powers to cleanse the fog would only last for a few hours and it would just come back… and worse. Shifu was pacing the halls of the student dormitories aimlessly while beating his brain against the wall with an idea, or a solution. He sighed deeply and continued pacing, sense nothing was coming to mind immediately.

"...I need a plan." Master Shifu muttered to himself as he wandered slowly away from the Jade Palace and out past the pool surrounded by bamboo that has … _always_ been behind the Jade Palace. '_How long has this been here??'_ Shifu thought to himself and shrugged it off. Shifu sighed deeply thinking about all that had taken place in the last few weeks. Almost everyone important that Shifu knew had gone missing in the last forty-eight hours. The only ones that would be easy to find would be Zeng, his best messenger and Li-Tang, the new noodle chef at Mr. Ping's shop... And neither of them were Kung Fu Warriors. So the defense of the entire valley was resting on Shifu's shoulders.

This was the first time something like this has happened. The first time it was avoided by taking Po out training for his bout against Tai-Lung, and the Furious Five had ran away to face Tai-Lung without permission, so in truth, the Valley was completely undefended but nothing ill came of it. But now, Tai-Lung, Shen-Mao, Mei-Ling, Hou-Xin, The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five were all gone, off on their own … adventures, for lack of the best term.

"I don't know what I'm going to do... I need the guidance of my … no." Shifu sighed, "I need to start making more of my own decisions-"

As Shifu spoke, he turned his head to the noise of the Jade Palace's front door being forced open. '_Who could that be? Why are they intruding on Palace Grounds?'_

"SHIFU!" His ears were then assaulted with Li-Tang's enraged voice, although that was the only voice he heard.

"Li... Li-Tang??" Shifu called back, a bit disbelieving that Li-Tang would show up at the Jade Palace, but when he saw her approaching he was certain that he wasn't going mad due to the fog.

"Hey? What's going on up here? The people are calling for you." Li-Tang said, approaching Shifu as if she were going to attempt to ring his neck, but she got within reach and bent forward to bow respectfully.

"I..." Shifu mouthed for a moment, then straightened up. "Well, as you know the fog has returned, a lot worse than it was at first."

"Yeah, I know... It's impossible to really even see through. What did Sa-Chi do anyway??" Li-Tang questioned the Grand Master as she rose her head and began looking around, surprised she was able to see through the fog in the Palace and not in the Valley.

"She absorbed it, and that's all I can really say about it. But I don't know what else she did, or exactly how she did it. But when the fog returned it was stronger, so I don't want to really risk doing it again. Who knows what the affects of a second attempt would bring."

"Well, I understand but what are _you_ going to do about it?"

"I can teach you Kung-Fu."

"No you can't..." Li-Tang sighed exasperated. "What are you going to do about this fog Shifu? It's a huge problem and only you can fix it."

"I don't..." Shifu paused, "Actually..."

"What?" Li-Tang asked as she watched Shifu dig into his clothes, rifling through them for something, then in a flash Shifu presented a gritty looking gauntlet that appeared to be far too large for his own hand, but he put it on as though it were a perfect fit and meant for him. "Hey, what's that?" The panda asked, pointing towards the worn piece of armor.

"It's the _Leopard Gauntlet,_ it belonged to Tai-Lung when he was a boy. I've had it for years." Shifu replied, adjusting the wide fitting armored fist onto his own hand.

"Cool, I think, so what does it do? Can it actually help our fog problem."

"I believe it can, or I hope it can." Shifu said as an after thought as he held his hand into the air and began to channel his chi into the gauntlet, immediately causing a glow to flow off of the article of armor.

"Whoa..." Li-Tang gasped as she took a step back, expecting Shifu to begin swinging the fist around like Sa-Chi swung her Katana. "Uh, can that cleanse the fog?"

"I'm sure it can, but... I don't know how affective it will be."

The glow emitting from Tai-Lung's gauntlet began to illuminate the entire body of Fog that surrounded and populated the Valley changing the hue of the world around everyone trapped within from it's iron grey to a dull blue hue. Then slowly, starting at Shifu and spanning outward, the fog began to vanish as if it were being completely burned away instead of being absorbed as Sa-Chi's weapon did.

"Whoa!" Li-Tang repeated herself. "Hey Shifu! It's working!"

"T-tha-t's...g-g-great...new-s...." Shifu replied as he increased his own chi flow to the Gauntlet.

"Hey, are you ok??" The panda asked, from her spot without taking a step forward to investigate the Master while he was working.

"I...I'll...b-be f-fin-fine..." Shifu grunted and held his hand higher and opened the fingers on the fist.

With that action sudden streams of white light energy came shooting off of almost every living thing near Shifu and into his hand. The grass, the trees, and small insects were expelling the short streams of white light from their bodies and into Shifu's gloved palm, all but Li-Tang was emitting with energy. A white orb had formed in Shifu's hand and it was growing larger and larger by the moment but Shifu had apparently gotten enough. Quickly the Master closed his palm and began to take stances that matched Tai-Lung's form perfectly.

"Defense!" Shifu shouted and held his palms low.

"Counter!" The red panda roared as his body fell low to the ground, but not touching the soil below him.

"Victory!" Shifu then spun and threw his armored palm into the air, and released the ball of energy that was gripped tightly in his hand into the air. The orb repelled away from Shifu and began to violently strobe and pulse in it's size and shape until it suddenly exploded like a bright and brilliant blue Chinese Firework.

"Holy Damn...!" Li-Tang watched in awe at where the orb detonated, "That was amazing Master Shifu."

"Heh heh..." Shifu stammered silently, taking silent … but deep breaths.

"I mean really amazing. That Kung-Fu stuff can't be all bad I suppose but I'm still not interested in training or anything. I'm just giving praise, that was really really cool."

"T-thank you." Shifu exhaled deeply began patting ice away from his clothes and fur.

"Hey... Why are you all frozen??" Li-Tang asked, now stepping closer to Shifu to see that the short red panda's fur had been horribly frozen and his flesh was probably frost bitten from the extreme chill generating from his glove.

"Do you know why the Hall of Heroes exists, Li-Tang?" Shifu stammered, trying to stave off the cold while getting as much ice out of his fur as he could.

"I thought it was to preserve the memories of Great Warriors or something?" The Panda answered but before she could receive and answer her nose was assaulted by a tiny weightless chill. She turned her head towards to sky to notice that it had begun snowing, and heavily. "Snow?"

"The Hall of Heroes exists to keep precious artifacts out the reach of untrained and undeserving hands... Every artifact in the Hall was precious to their original owners and each is infused with chi that is sensitive and unique to it's owner..." Shifu spoke as he removed his shivering paw from the frozen _Leopard Gauntlet, _"Tampering with someone else's chi can be an almost fatal experience... if not for dealing with Tai-Lung for so many years, I could have experienced a lot more pain than I am now."

Shifu put away Tai-Lung's gauntlet and turned his head to the sky to witness what he'd done. Snow was falling over the Valley of Peace and the Jade Palace, and it seemed to effectively dissolving the fog that had engulfed the land, or at least this particular area. Shifu and Li-Tang could hear the Villager's cheers and calls. They still wanted to see the Grand Master, but instead of a plethora of complaints, they were going to shower their savior with praise, admiration, and thanks.

"I'm going to go and warm myself up..." Shifu said with a small smile. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, and even hit a training dummy or two."

"Ugh..." Li-Tang mumbled, "You really know how to ruin a great snow day old man... But thanks for the offer. I'm probably going to head back to work, sense people can see now they'll surely want to eat."

"Surely." Shifu replied, walking away from Li-Tang and towards the Jade Palace.

"Thanks for clearing away the fog by the way, Shifu!" The Panda called back while leaving the Palace.

Shifu didn't reply, he merely waved his warm hand to dismiss the noodle chef and enter his home to find a hard drink to warm himself up with.

Shifu knew his job was to protect and serve the people, but as an adoptive father, his job was extended to being a mind reader, a fortune teller and a psychic. He'd had to develop these extra senses whenever Tai-Lung trained on rooftops and wore himself out, or whenever Tigress would go fishing without a rod. If not for the ability to predict what his foolish children would do, they wouldn't have grown to their current ages. Shifu wasn't truly a father, but he knew how to behave like one, and he was all too familiar with the gut feeling that was telling him that something … something was **wrong.** The Grand Master had returned to his room to find his warm sake untouched. '_Good.'_ Shifu thought to himself.

Like a father, sometimes he needed a break, and now was that time. One of his two children were in trouble and he knew it, and they would be coming back very soon. There wasn't any scientific way to explain how Shifu knew this, not even Oogway really wanted to explain why Shifu felt how he felt whenever he scolded Tai-Lung or Tigress for something that they had done out of pure innocence. All he knew was that clearing the valley of fog was just like turning on the porch light, or leaving the front door unlocked. So when they needed help, they wouldn't have much trouble finding home . . .

Shifu poured himself a warm glass and threw it back with haste and swiftly began to pour one more. He'd surely need it for what was coming next . . . He was too old to _not _know something wrong had happened . . .

. . . to Tigress . . .

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'_Things haven't been going right for me for years . . . I couldn't really imagine what my life would have been like if I had stayed with my mother, and whatever organization they were affiliated with, but I'm more than certain I wouldn't have to deal with ghosts... Or at least I'm hoping so, because being a Kung-Fu Master never prepared me for this...'_

Master Tigress was hanging upside down with her feet clasped in the tight grip of an obvious, but unrealistic trap.

"Well… I suppose the stories weren't completely false…" Tigress muttered to herself as she swung her kunai at the ghostly apparition that had abducted her in vain. "The stories are just stupid… and so are you!!" She shouted at the phantom drooling hungrily over her figure and frame even though it was cloaked in stolen assassin's gear.

"Yeah, you!" Tigress shouted again pulling a short mace from her overturned cloak and swung it towards the phantom's head, again in vain. The creature that had abducted Master Tigress was the _'__Ghost of the Raunchy Rhino'_ that Master Mantis and many others had been telling children to avoid for years. It was merely a tale to keep children within city limits at night, but the strange fog in the air has been making strange things start to become a reality. Tigress never thought that someone could ever return from the dead, namely Shen-Mao, and she never thought that ghosts existed or at least not ones that could physically _touch you_, _and_ resist being touched themselves.

"Muahahahaha!" The rhino laughed out loud as he reached forward to grope at Tigress.

"What the hell?!" The she shouted out loud, pulling forth a steel fan from her cloak and swinging at the ghost, again to do nothing but pass through his transparent body like a hand through steam. "How is this possible? Get off of me you freak!"

"Muahahahaha!" The rhino laughed getting a hand full of Tigress.

"I'm completely pissed off now…" Tigress roared and struggled in the ghost's hands while trying to find the right weapon for killing what's already dead. "Damn it, what are you weak against!?"

"Muahahahaha!" The rhino laughed even louder, much to Tigress' anger.

"Is that all you know how to do is laugh? You must have laughed a lot while you did this type of crap you worthless, low life…"

Master Tigress fondled through her own overturned cloak, trying to desperately think of a weapon that would work against spirits and cursing the entire time.

"Damn damn damn… This is no way for a Master to be handled…" Tigress grunted and threw a shuriken through the ghosts head. "…Oh this is hopeless." She sighed deeply, feeling the blood that had collected in her brain finally starting to make her head feel like it was boiling.

But as the rhino's wandering hand left her chest and wandered to her rear, Tigress' short ears perked up, or down; depending on how you were looking at her, and her eyes light up into a sudden roaring flame.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" She shouted as her entire body was suddenly swallowed by flames, her chi engulfing her body accidentally in reaction to her sudden anger. Which managed to break her free of the phantoms grasp.

"Haah?!" The ghost gasped and backed away from the burning Tigress, who immediately landed and attacked the phantom with all the rage she could compress into her fists. However being a ghost gave the Rhino unparallelled speed and he vanished from Tigress' strike zone and reappeared behind the raging Jade Warrior.

"What in...?" Tigress growled and threw a heavy sweeping kick behind her, but missing the ghost reminded her that he never had legs to begin with. "Damn it..."

"Muahahahaha!" The Rhino began laughing again as he opened his arms and snatched Tigress off the ground and into a powerful bear-hug to squeeze the fight out of her.

"Shiiii..." Master Tigress growled as the dynamite grip of the Rhino began crushing her ribs. "D-damn...you." Tigress attempted the struggle in the Rhino's vice-like grip but to no results aside from fatigue. The grip grew tighter and even as Tigress attempted to summon her _Fire chi_ to aide her, his grip was slowing down her blood flow and killing her, very slowly.

"Muahahahaha!" The rhino bellowed tightening his grip.

"Go to hell!" Tigress roared out, pulling back her head and suddenly a roaring flame shot right into the ghost's face.

"Aaaah!!" Tigress was released with a painful shout, and she hit the ground hard, feeling stiff from the crushing bear hug and the icy chill of a phantom she'd been forced to endure for the past few moments.

"I still don't know how I do that..." Tigress laughed lightly, trying to think of a way to beat this ghostly adversary. "But now I know you don't like chi … and that will be your downfall."

"RAAAH!" The ghost howled in anger and dove at Tigress like a meteor.

"SHIT!" Tigress cursed as she held one paw up to unleash as much chi as she could in an explosion to somehow smite the ghost, but instead of fire, she felt a horrible sting in her raised paw, like she had been stabbed.

"RAAAHH!!!" Master Tigress roared out loud through the pain, but she quickly suppressed the urge to shout and curse to turn her vision to the ghost to witness a giant kunai lodged in the skull of the Rhino and through her own hand.

"G-..g-...aah..." The Rhino was mostly silent for a moment, just as Tigress was. Her hand had been nailed to the head of this creature by some other assassin. But before she could ponder on the event anymore, the Ghost roared out in deep twisting pain and threw Tigress into the air with his dying contortions, then he exploded into mist and loose strains of chi into the heavy fog.

Tigress flew through the air trying to regain her acquisition but couldn't. She mentally cursed about the ghost and about how hitting the ground would hurt but before she collided with the dirt or a random tree trunk, but before either of those occured she was suddenly caught by a strong pair of arms.

"What now..." Tigress muttered turning her head to come face to face with a Corgi who bore a long scar across her short muzzle. "You again." Tigress glared, realizing she'd been rescued by Yori-Yoshi. "Why are you still naked? It's been days!?"

"I... uh, yeah I um... don't know." The corgi replied apologetically, placing Tigress back onto her feet and bowing respectfully before the Master.

"Hey... why are you bowing? Did you throw this knife into my hand like an imbecile??" Tigress grunted, taking hold of the blade and pulling it out of her fist.

"Y-yes, and I'm sorry. I was trying to save you, I really was!" Yoshi swiftly apologized and bowed furiously.

Tigress roared out in pain as the blade escaped her hand leaving a giant wound that quickly began bleeding.

"D-damnit...." She said, glaring down at the gaping hole in her fist. "Oh... that's bad... real bad."

"I'm sorry!! I really am! I was just trying to help... this... this is why I'll never be a great assassin." Yoshi confessed, bowing her head again.

"W-what are you talking about..." Tigress growled, taking hold of a nearby tree to maintain her balance. "Damn..."

"I... I've never been very good at anything I'm... um, are you … Oh no. You're bleeding!"

"REALLY? You think?" Tigress muttered, sliding down to her feet. "Daaaamnit... this hurts... That kunai wasn't just laced with poison. It had something else, something that could kill that ghost... It's uh... infused with _Chi _right?"

Yoshi bowed again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. And yes they are, th-they're my _Wind Kunai_. They're infused with wind to cut through the air and move faster that other kunai." Yoshi explained while quickly scooping Tigress into her arms. "You need medical attention, and I don't know enough about that field to help you. But there's a large village near by that can probably help you. I can sense it nearby."

"A...aha... A village..." Tigress stammered, now feeling too woosy to really understand what she was seeing, hearing or to remember where she had gotten lost. The poison in her veins was taking hold and paralyzing her mind and body like it was designed to. "wha...whe...er..."

"Look, everything will be ok. I'm going to save you, Ryoko. I'll at least be able to complete this task." Yoshi began running in the direction of the Valley that she'd accidentally come across earlier while tracking Tigress' scent. Tigress had ran past the Bao-Gu Orphanage and through a lot of swamp land but she, for some strange reason, completely avoided the largest city in this valley that was tucked comfortably in the middle of no where, and that's where they were now going. A city that looks like it's never seen a war, or at least not a large one, must have miracle medicines to heal Tigress' wound. The poison would circulate out of her system after a while but she could still bleed to death from the wound in her hand without help.

"Y-os..hi... yori..." Tigress growled, holding a paw up to Yori's face and gently scratching her fur, leaving light scars.

"I'm hoping that was my punishment. I really am sorry Ryoko but don't worry, this place is close by. I don't know what it's called, but it's snowing there and there's no fog, so someone must be smart and strong enough to heal your wounds if they can beat this fog right? I'm sure they'll at least have a doctor or a physician to help you. I promise I won't let you die Ryoko. Just hold on a little longer ok? Ok? I'll take passing out as a yes."

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_Meiyou tongku meiyou xiyue - ( There is no joy without pain [ Roughly ] )_

_Weile you shengming de, Bixu si - ( In order to have life, we must die [ Roughly ] )_

_Ji-Ju Shou-Xian Chi ( Roughly Translates out into 'Sudden or Rapid Lifetime or Length of Life.' Basically 'Quickly Losing Life' )_

_Oh, and don't worry about the Raunchy Rhino, he's nothing major, just a living example that explains what's to come later on. Thanks for reading, and I apologize for the long wait . . . I've had this chapter done for weeks, just never posted. Bah.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Dynasty of the Fated and Cursed_

**Blood of the Earth**

_-Chapter 2: Make Love **and **War-_

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"Hmmmmmmmmmmm... two... Two. I shwear jusst two." Shifu stammered loosely.

"Two?" Li-Tang argued, "Why _don't_ I believe that? Perhaps because I've served more than five drinks to men at the restaurant and they weren't even half as **tanked** as you are!"

"MmmmmHmmm.. Tree." Shifu responded, holding his head in one paw while _magically_ rotating only one of his eyeballs in his head.

"Tree!" Li-Tang said in shock watching Shifu's fish eye.

"Three, that'sss Mo-than-Fo."

"Three is NOT more than Four!" The panda held her head in her paws. "Oh man this is bad... Why of ALL TIMES do you decide to get smashed? I mean . . . it's like six-thirty!(6:30pm)" Li-Tang was clearly nervous, and began pacing back and forth.

"Why does it matter what I do... You don't wanna Kung-Fu with me... So you don't wanna Fu anytime." Shifu muttered, reaching for his empty cup.

"PUT THAT DOWN!"

"Y-yes ma'am." Shifu suddenly replied in plain Chinese, and sat up straight.

"Whoa... That was different," The Panda said in shock. "Are you sober?"

"Ofcourse I'm shober..." Shifu glared not so convincingly.

"God... you're toasted. This is bad... Shifu why did you need to get drunk now!"

"I am NOT drunk... Li." Shifu argued, sitting up straight and partially hiccuping.

"Don't call me Li...ugh..." The panda sighed. "Ok look, I don't know if you'll care in your current condition, and I refuse to let you near her in your current condition; but Tigress just showed up at the town square and she's bleeding, but she's with some other woman and they-"

"TIGRESS IS HERE? TIGRESS IS HURT?" Shifu again shot up onto his feet, this time _actually _sober.

"Gah!" Li-Tang jumped back, "What the hell? Are you actually sober this time? Or are you going to buckle again?"

Shifu wrinkled his brow and began shooting around his room for his medical kits, cursing to himself that he had to get drunk _now_ of all times so he couldn't completely remember where it was. "Yes, yes, I'm sober. I just... just... Need to find where my meds are."

"Um..." Li-Tang began to open her mouth to say something . . .

"No! I'm not on pressure pills, heart pills, and I don't take THOSE pills, I'm a very limber and fit male despite my age." Shifu unintentionally argued, the sake made him think he was arguing with Shen-Mao for a moment.

Li-Tang's right eye began to twitch, "Um... I … didn't hear that... But... your medical kit is right here."

"What?" Shifu said, pulling his entire body out of a dresser drawer. "Where?"

"Isn't this it?" Li-Tang was pointing at a small wooden case that said, '_Medical'_ on it's front.

"YES! That's it!" Shifu leapt away from his dresser and towards Li-Tang and the medical kit he was furiously searching for. "Where did you find it?"

"Next to the front door." She replied and shook her head. "You're still _partially_ drunk."

"Doesn't matter, I'm sober enough to check on my daughter. Now take her to me!" Shifu commanded, tucking the supply kit under his arm.

"...Don't you mean, _me_ to _her?" _The Panda sighed.

Shifu didn't have to respond, the drunken glare in his eyes and the teal haze starting to boil in his fists said far more than he could have. Without anymore delay, Li-Tang and Shifu hauled out of the Palace at top speed and into the Valley, on their way to Mr. Ping's shop where Tigress was being held. If any place had enough ice and herbs to keep a very unconventional wound prepped until medical could arrive, it was a fresh noodle shop. ( or the hospital but Yoshi isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer... )

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Tigress' eyelids fluttered for a moment or two while she tried to gather her thoughts and clear her vision, but immediately she could tell that she wasn't in danger and the room was full of friendly faces. . . or partially friendly faces.

"Who are you?" Tigress asked a large ox who was standing over her and watching her recover.

"Um, I'm _Quan,_ but people call me '_Nan Kan Tou Lu'._"

"People call you '**idiot**' . . . ?" Tigress said, stroking her head, feeling that her skull had been bandaged. "W-what happened to my head? Where am I anyway?"

"You are home." Shifu spoke, clearly sending a frightening jolt down Tigress' spine. This was clear to see by the way Tigress flinched and froze, but she was put at ease when Shifu calmly asked, "Are you alright?"

Tigress slowly turned her head to Shifu, but before she could be washed over with fear and worry, she first caught the distinctive scent of alcohol, and Mr. Ping was in the room with the rest of them but he **wasn't **cooking.

"Master? Have you been drinking?" Tigress immediately asked.

Shifu blunk, "Ah … um, you're still delirious, get some sleep."

"Head Injuries don't require, nor should they be ailed with sleep." Mr. Ping stated with a smile as he approached Master Tigress. "How are you feeling, girl?"

"Like crap. Where am I?" Tigress replied, looking around to take in the scenery.

From what she could see past all the watchful and concerned people around her, she was in a guest room somewhere. It was clean, and well decorated. Not much dirt, grime, dust or cob webs to be seen anywhere immediately. Books were stacked high on shelves along with many scrolls of Kung-Fu. A few holes and stab wounds were decorating the walls, and posters of the Furious Five, Oogway and Master Shifu sat around the room and on the walls. This room even smelt like a guest room, although there was the hint of noodles floating around. "Is this another room at the Noodle Shop or something?"

"No girl, you're in Po's room." Mr. Ping again, stated with a smile.

"Really . . .?" Tigress said slowly, "Why . . . is it so clean?"

"Well it's Li-Tang's room now," The duck replied, and Li-Tang spoke after him.

"Yeah, when I started working here, Mr. Ping gave me Po's room, and it was in desperate need of cleaning. But when you came in bleeding, I figured my room was the cleanest in the village."

Mr. Ping laughed, "Good thing too, all the concern for Tigress has brought in tons of business!"

"Always about the money huh? Good ol' Mr. Ping." Tigress laughed as she sat up to finally acknowledge everyone in the room.

Mr. Ping was leaving, but the remaining were Li-Tang, Quan, Zeng, Shifu and a few other villagers who were apparently very important sense they made their ways up here, past Mr. Ping. For example, Tigress' eyes focused on what appeared to be a feline of some type in the corner of the room. His eyes weren't open, but it was probably his normal expression. Although out of these colorful characters Tigress didn't see Yoshi, she may have been the one to cause the injury, but she at least carried Tigress back to the Valley of Peace, even if it was the _last_ place Tigress wanted to be right now.

"Hey... where did Yoshi go?" Tigress asked, looking around the room only to notice that a lot more than just her head and hand had been bandaged. She tried to move her leg find that each had been bandaged tightly, along with parts of her chest, abs, butt and shoulders. "And why am I dressed up like Shen-Mao?"

"The Corgi is in custody, Tigress." Shifu responded. "She confessed that she was the one to wound you, however she isn't being harmed."

"Custody? Quit being a tough guy, she's just down stairs." Li-Tang muttered.

"You mean that woman?" Quan spoke while pointing at the door, "She's just sitting around being worried. But she didn't want to stay in here."

Tigress exhaled deeply, "Well that's good. At least she's ok. I need to thank her for rescuing me."

The Ocelot stepped up to speak, "She mentioned not wanting to be thanked, Master Tigress. You can probably relax and heal without worry."

Tigress smiled and nodded, "I suppose so … um, I don't believe I've seen you before. Who are you?"

The Ocelot took a step back and scratched his head, lowering his cap over his closed eyes. "Oh me? I'm no one, nobody important. My name is Zhan, I sell traps."

"Cool." Tigress said with genuine interest, starting to remember why she dealt with Shifu all those years. Kung-Fu training may have been hard, but the people in the Valley were always cheerful to be around.

Shifu coughed into his palm to redirect attention to him, "And you're bandaged up because you have numerous chi burns all over your body. The bandages have been treated to mend those burn wounds..."

"Oh..." Tigress said silently, thinking back on when she was attacked by the ghost, not at all realizing that she was being burned under her uniform by the rhino.

"Which leads me to my next question." Shifu spoke, turning around and giving everyone in the room a look that said '_Leave.'_

Li-Tang, Zhan, Quan and the others nodded respectfully and left the room, leaving Tigress and her _old_ Master behind to chat. Tigress sighed and turned away from Shifu as he turned back to her.

"Where are the rest of the Furious Five?" Shifu asked, politely but still with a great level of concern in his voice.

"..." Tigress was quiet, starring down at her own chi scarred fists.

"Where are the rest of the Furious Five?" Shifu repeated, taking a step towards the wounded tiger.

"...I don't know..." Tigress silently responded to her old Master.

"What do you mean, '_You Don't Know'?" _Shifu shouted at Tigress like she was a teenager. "You're their leader! Were they injured? Were they Killed? Did they get lost in the fog?"

"They were lost in the fog, Shifu... I don't know anything more." Tigress hastily responded, clearly lying.

"... You're their leader Tigress! How could you lose them!"

"..." Tigress was silent once again.

"Tigress, do not ignore me. I am your Master."

"..." However the Master of Tiger Style Kung-Fu remained silent.

"Tigress!" Shifu however wasn't giving up and continued to demand her attention and a response.

"..."

"TIGRESS!" Shifu shouted for a third time, his concern slightly raising over his anger.

"MY NAME IS RYOKO!" Tigress shouted back at her Master as she turned towards Shifu and proceeded to stand up, but she was swiftly pushed back down by Shifu's hand.

"Sit." Shifu said plainly and waved his paw after pushing down and deflecting Tigress.

The tiger's paws and feet were quickly locked into place with a flash of light. Teal orbs appeared on Tigress' appendages to hold her in place. Very similar to what was used on Shen-Mao and Tai-Lung, but Shifu's chi was more refined thus making this binding technique actually effective.

"You think this is going to hold me…?" Tigress growled low, her disapproval seething in her voice. "I'm not a little girl anymore, and I'm not your student. I'm a Kung-Fu Master, and-"

"I just want to know what happened Tigress... You all left without my permission, then you come back bloody and burned! What is going on out in that fog? Where is Shen-Mao? Where is Tai-Lung? Where is the Dragon Warrior and where is Mei-Ling and Hou-Xin?"

Tigress sat quietly for a moment locked in Shifu's chi while being assaulted by his plethora of questions. She didn't speak at first only glared at him, her hate and sorrow swirling in her crimson eyes, revealing far more than she would ever say to her former master.

"You embarrass me..." Tigress slowly and silently began to confess.

"W-what?" Shifu took a step back, "What are you talking about?"

"You embarrass me Shifu..." Tigress repeated, lowering her head. "I've lived in Tai-Lung's shadow for years..."

"His shadow?" Shifu paused.

"Don't act as if you don't know! You wanted to make me into the Dragon Warrior for your entire life... and do you know what it did to me?" Tigress accused with a snarl hiding behind each and every word.

"IT WASN'T JUST TO MAKE YOU THE DRAGON WARRIOR!" Shifu responded swiftly. "I was training you to control your anger! To focus and hone your untamed malice and fervor!"

"And do know what it did to me Shifu?" Tigress roared, "Do you have ANY idea what endless, grueling training alone in a hot, screaming training house filled with fire, splintery wood and iron does to a seven year old girl?"

"..." Shifu was silent for a long moment while Tigress was growling, "What does it do..."

"It makes them go INSANE!" Tigress' body again, lit on fire like it did when she was fighting the ghost, but Shifu took a step back.

"Extinguish that flame immediately! You'll burn down Mr. Ping's home and business!" Shifu demanded, holding a paw behind his back, preparing to unveil and use the _Leopard Gauntlet_ if things got out of hand. His drunken-high had long sense faded, but a single touch of his finger to the Gauntlet chilled his bones.

However there wasn't any need for the gauntlet, Tigress' flame died down as she closed her eyes and began to breathe deep and center herself. She was still bound by Shifu's chi and thus, could not truly escape just yet, but while she was locked down, she decided it was best to try and calm herself down. There was no reason to attempt fighting Shifu. The old red panda may be up in his years . . . but he was still the best Kung-Fu Warrior alive.

Tigress lowered her head and closed her eyes. "Any normal seven year old girl wouldn't have survived your training Shifu."

The red panda turned his head away from Tigress as she began to pour her heart out for him. "I..."

"Your training was perfect for Tai-Lung, but that's because Tai-Lung was the product of Shen-Mao, and a Shadow Hunter. I," She paused for a moment. "Am the daughter of a Shadow Hunter... and... A Sultan. I don't know very much about my mother as of now... But I never met my father... but as a child, all I knew was that I was alone. You cared for me, for a while … then you suddenly stopped, and I was forced to deal with it."

"You speak as though I was a monster, Tigress..." Shifu half lamented through his words, not turning back to look at Tigress to see if she was crying or not, because he felt as though he could shed a tear.

"No... you weren't a monster. You never were... you were just lonely, and wanted to fill the void of Tai-Lung with someone new, but I couldn't make the cut... But I wanted to fill the void of my parents and any friends I may have had... with only you, and you weren't enough for me."

"Tigress I-" Shifu turned around to try and get a word in, but he was interrupted.

"No … It's fine, Shifu really..." The feline sighed. "In truth, I was the one who was trying too hard to replace what I'd lost. You wanted your son back, and I wanted everything back... But I needed to grow up, and see the big picture. It was just hard for me to see it through the eyes of a seven year old." She said with a slight smile on her cheeks.

"Tigress, at seven you were just a child, you didn't need to concern yourself with the problems of the world. Even now in your current age, you can still console yourself in me, you know. I may be old, and I'm not technically your blood relative, but I am your-"

"Father." Tigress cut Shifu off again.

Shifu sighed with a smile. "Yes, I like to think of myself as your father, even though you're far taller than I am."

"We all are taller than you, father." Tigress re-opened her eyes, showing traces of tears, but the expression on her face wasn't that of sorrow.

"Hey..." Shifu grunted. "Mantis isn't taller than me."

"You said he could grow to be with his earth chi. He could grow to be as large as a house."

"Only for a few hours!" Master Shifu responded to defend himself, and smiled. Without further hesitation he waved a hand to remove the binds on Tigress' paws, sensing that the tension was completely gone now.

Tigress began to rub her wrists, thankful that she was free from Shifu's unpleasant but nostalgic chi grasp. It had been so many years sense the last time she'd had to deal with that technique that Tigress had actually forgotten that Shifu even had chi until a few weeks ago. But being free of Shifu's grip also gave Tigress' damaged body and mind to come back to realization that she'd ignorantly been overlooking for a few minutes.

Shifu was merely smiling like an old man, clearly seeing the distress in Tigress' eyes, but he was glad to finally feel like he was back in Tigress' heart, he wouldn't scold her on this.

"So..." Tigress began rubbing the back of her neck. "Crazy weather we're having right?" She tried to edge the conversation away from her Shadow Hunter garb, but she knew it was in vain. Shifu had already seen it once before on the assassin that came after Tai-Lung and Shen-Mao, so there's no telling Shifu knows the uniform's look.

"Yes, it is." Shifu laughed, playing stupid. "Sure is hot, today."

"Yeah, the heat. It's sweltering." Tigress was now playing into Shifu's hand.

"You are aware that it's snowing outside Tigress . . . Right?" Shifu then spoke, approaching the window where Po's Kung Fu toys still remain.

"It is?" Tigress gulped, having no idea that it could snow with fog engulfing every inch of land that the eye could see, but when Shifu opened the shutters of a window of the room she was occupying; she plainly saw the thick, white, powdery chunks falling from the sky. "Damn, so it is snowing . . ."

"Yes, is it. I created snow to counteract the fog, which seems to be working..._ for now_. It might work as long as the snow is falling, but there's no telling how long I can keep it going. Heh heh, It almost froze to death when I made the sky snow."

"...How? I thought you had _Force Chi_, father?" Tigress asked, again trying to edge away from conversation about her attire.

"Answer my question and I'll answer yours. Why are you in that uniform?" Shifu asked plain and clear.

Tigress sighed deeply and decided to cop out. "Is Yoshi still downstairs?"

"Yes, why?" Shifu pondered.

"Is she still half naked?" Tigress asked as a follow up.

"Uh... yes, I was wondering about that... Oh." Shifu finally pieced it together, feeling like an idiot. "You stole _her_, clothes."

"Yeah."

"Ah... Well that makes sense. Perhaps we should get her some clothing to cover up, the snow fall is making everything a bit colder and she'll need to keep warm."

Tigress chuckled, "Yeah she might need a thick shirt or something, or all the cold is going to have her standing on end."

"Hmm? What?" Shifu thought about what Tigress said . . . and didn't get it. "Well never mind that. I was just hoping you hadn't become one of them. The Ocelot knows a lot about Shadow Hunters, and he identified your uniform the moment you were brought into town by that naked canine."

"Ocelot? That, Zhan guy?" Tigress shook her head. "He knows about Shadow Hunters? How?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Shifu responded, starting to pace. "But he's a good man, with a respectable business and has a good head on his shoulders."

"I see..." Tigress muttered, sensing that Shifu's rambling was going to lead into a series of questions.

"So..." The Master began to speak. "You honestly can't tell me where any of the others have gone?"

Tigress shook her head slowly, "I... no. Not truthfully at least... All I can assume is that everyone made it to Sun-Lo to defend it, or assess the damage there. But that's not including Tai-Lung … or his father... I'm not sure at all where they went. I thought they were last in your care, father."

Shifu nodded and turned away from Tigress to close the open window of the bedroom. "Yes... the both of them were last in my sight a few days ago, then all of a suddenly; they disappeared... in only a matter of minutes at that, and to make matters worse, the Shadow Hunter we had captured escaped along with Shen-Mao and Tai-Lung. So..." Shifu sighed deeply, "As far as I know, the only one of my students or allies that can still draw breath … is you, Ryoko."

"I'm truly sorry, father." Tigress spoke, attempting to move but none of her muscles wanted to so much as budge at the moment.

"Well, I have one more question for you and I'll leave you to recover... Exactly … _What_ attacked you to give you those wounds? Was it, Tai-Lung or a Shadow Huntress?" Shifu turned to glance at Tigress over his shoulder so he could somehow manage to hide the worry in his face.

"It … was a ghost, father." Tigress plainly responded.

"A... Ghost." He paused, "You're being serious?"

Tigress silently nodded, "But-" Tigress began to smile to try and alter the course of the conversation. "If you want to know more about the Shadow Hunters, I can find stuff out. I have their clothes and I've apparently been a Shadow Hunter for years, way before they became cool."

Shifu smirked. "Yes, I bet you were. But Zhan is a merchant, a tricks, traps and wire salesman, so he hears his fair share of information about everything and I suppose he's never lied to me before so I trust his word. Whenever me and Po would order supplies from him, he could usually tell me something good."

"Is that so. Well I'll have to have a talk with him too then. So I can pick his brain." Tigress said with a half-grin on her face, hoping she could discover more about her organization, or her mother.

Master Shifu began to laugh out loud. "Talk with Zhan? Can you even stand up with all those wounds? You're actually bandaged up _MORE_ than Shen-Mao."

Master Tigress scoffed for a moment, and turned to rise from Li-Tang's bed and stood tall on her feet, with a bright sharp smile on her fangs.

"Ofcourse I can stand, I AM a Kung Fu Master after all . . . ! " She paused, " . . . ! " and paused " . . . **Gah!**" Then fell backwards onto the bed, writhing in sudden pain and stretching all her muscles like she'd just ran a thousand miles in two hours.

"Hmm, you're muscles are fatigued pretty bad from those chi burns." Shifu muttered as he observed Tigress' pain, and prodded her arms and hips to gauge the level of discomfort she was in... Which was incredibly high judging by how swiftly Tigress pulled away from Shifu's prodding and poking.

"Well they're not physical," Shifu spoke to try and comfort his distressed daughter. "So it's not like you're bleeding, or suffering any broken bones, but you'll probably feel like-"

"It feels like _thousands _of little _needles _in my skin! **Aaaahhh**! It's worse than Menthol!" Tigress began to complain.

At first, when Tigress woke up; she hadn't been exerting herself so she didn't feel any muscle fatigue. But once she stood up, it drained the last remnants of her energy that had been left behind from her ghost attack and it sent her crashing into Li-Tang's bed with no hope of walking for a few hours until her energy was returned.

"I'll have Li-Tang come deliver you some soup in a while. For now, get some rest my daughter, perhaps I can ask the Corgi about the locations of the others." With those words Shifu exited Li-Tang's room, leaving a loudly complaining Tigress in the Panda's bed to argue with her own muscles about refusing to work.

* * *

Back at the Snow Leopard's cave, Shen-Mao, and his children were enjoying a very quick meal of dried fish, and rice cake. Nothing too glamorous but the perfect things to restore energy and get them all up on their feet. It hadn't been very long since the group had collected into a partial whole, but the seven felines were already taking to each other as a family unit, in some form. Shen-Mao, had been accepted as the missing father, but he's been getting tortured with questions on every subject from his early life in Japan, to the finer details of how he escaped and survived in China against Shou-Lie Yin-Ying Assassins. Even though Shen-Mao didn't really quality as the world's greatest father, or even a necessary one, his forty year old children still accept him into their lives. His case had been argued and, _for the most part, _they understand even though they would have still preferred having him in their life. Sai-Yue, Fu-Mai and Reika had been on their own for years, many many years, mostly taking care of Mitsurugi and ordering around Asuka in the forest, and they had learned plenty from their travels. Their lives had been enriched by their mother and aunt, therefore the cunning, guile and brutality of the Shadow Hunters courses through the veins of all these felines, and it's quite apparent whenever they get into combat.

Tai-Lung on the other hand was the only one having problems adjusting to his scenery and new lifestyle. As far as he knew, the Jade Palace was his home, and even though it was very clear that they weren't bound by blood; Shifu was his father, and Oogway a Grandfather. But in the last few months, things had gone completely wild. He had broken free from prison, to return and claim his rite of power. But he was defeated and almost killed by the Dragon Warrior. His destined title, was harboring enough power to dismiss him quite easily and it was annoying. But even against the pain of loss, Tai-Lung had gained something else, a new ally. At first, Tai-Shen was just a figment of his imagination and wasn't someone he'd think would ever become more than a voice... But Tai-Shen was the one who saved his life from certain death, only to later be revealed as Shen-Mao... his father, his missing father. The man who he hated more than Po.

However hateful swears, disrespectful slaps and the illest will still couldn't keep Shen-Mao away from Tai-Lung, the elder snow leopard was destined to gain his lost son's forgiveness, a quest that he apparently didn't even have to embark on with his other four children. Mitsurugi and the girls accepted Shen-Mao very quickly, regardless if they tortured him a little before hand. And now Tai-Lung was here, he could glance around to each side of his shoulder, and see fur that was just like his …

Grey, spotted, rough and thick. It was beautiful. His sisters were graceful, elegant and deadly, and his _younger_ brother looked like him, both in facial features and muscle tone. Even though Mitsurugi's coat was very dark compared to everyone elses. His coat was about a low in hue as Sai-Yue's fur, like ore rock grey instead of rain cloud grey like his fur was. Their paws, claws, feet, ears, fangs, eyes, smiles, laughter and audacity all matched Shen-Mao with a degree or margin of error... Basically saying, that Tai-Lung could clearly see where he got his features and attitude from, and the others here shared that behavior. He, and they **were** **surely** Shen-Mao's kids. Well all except for Asuka, who was constantly purple, like a grape. It was strange, but acceptable.

"Setsuna?" Shen-Mao's voice finally cut into Tai-Lung's ears.

"Huh? Uh... what? What is it old man?" Tai-Lung replied, trying to remember what everyone was talking about before he got lost in his own thoughts.

"I was telling them about when you practically killed me back at the Jade Palace, and about how my chi saved me from death." Shen-Mao was smiling, even though the story was about how _he _got his skull beaten in.

"Oh that... Well, you deserved it."

"I'm not saying, I didn't. Heh heh, it's just that my injuries were extreme, and my _Kokou Chi_ can sap the health from living targets. So I had to steal a bit of your stamina to keep myself alive, or I'd of died of either blood loss, or a concussion."

"Whoa..." Reika said, sitting up at the brutality of the story. "That's intense... I had no idea Setsuna was that strong. So that Kung-Fu training didn't turn him into a kitten."

Shen-Mao nodded, "Master Shifu is an extremely well trained man. He taught Setsuna Kung-Fu to such a fine degree that Tai-Lung dismantled the '_Furious Five'_ by himself, while suspended on a rope bridge, hundreds of miles above ground, and leapt across the entire canyon with one jump when they cut the bridge to separate themselves from HIM!"

"Daaaaaaaaaaamn." The entire group of listening felines said, turning their attention to Tai-Lung, which provoked an unexpected blush to the tyrant's cheeks. He'd not been the center of _good_, attention for years and it felt … wild.

"Uh well... You know, they weren't trained to fight on bridges." Tai-Lung said, scratching the back of his head. "Which is why I could fight, Asuka and you two on the bridge easily." Tai-Lung said, mostly gesturing towards Reika and Fu-Mai.

Sai-Yue leaned back with a smile. "I didn't know you could blush brother."

"**Hiiiissssssssss!**" Tai-Lung responded, swiftly.

Shen-Mao laughed as he stood up and practically devoured the leather hide that his fish was wrapped in. "Leave him alone Sai, he's got my modesty. I don't gloat unless I have to, but Setsuna, I think you _have to. _You know as well as I do that the Furious Five were trained to fight in every situation, even falling, under water, upside down and vertically. They had the same training as you did, but you were just better than they are. They are superior as a joint unit, you are superior as a single unit."

Tai-Lung lowered his head to his half eaten fish, trying not to really blush anymore while thinking about what Shen-Mao had said. "I suppose … But..." He began thinking back on that particular event.

He was still partially uncomfortable with his new environment, but he was overjoyed to be around cats. His family and friends were no longer, rabbits, pandas, sheep, ducks and pigs... but cats... felines... actual damn cats. But that thinking is what always made his mind return to the only other cat he was able to associate himself with for years, Ryoko Yatogi, better known as _Master Tigress . . ._

"But what, brother?" Mitsurugi's deep voice broke through Tai-Lung's day-dreaming this time, instead of Shen-Mao.

"Well..." Tai-Lung began speaking without missing a beat. "They cut the bridge that day... and tried to separate myself from them... like they were desperate to win. I could see the fear in their eyes, and I was wondering what the hell type of stories people were hearing about me when I was locked up."

"Ah …" Shen-Mao nodded. He approached his son and took a seat beside him. "I understand what you mean son. I should have spoken to Shifu about that..."

"Well it's not really that." Tai-Lung interrupted.

"Well what is it?" Asuka asked, leaning over Mitsurugi so she could hear Tai-Lung's story.

"It's after I landed, and paralyzed them. It was long before my chi was even understood... I didn't really know what type I had, but Shifu taught me a natural chi ability to paralyze your enemies at their pressure points." Tai-Lung explained.

"Yeah?" Reika impatiently pestered.

"Go on, tell more, tell more!" Fu-Mai egged on her brother.

"I … hardly even know if she remembers but... everyone was paralyzed and unable to so much as bat an eye in retaliation to me... I uh..." Setsuna began to get quieter.

Shen-Mao's eyes began to flutter in his head for a moment, trying to see where Tai-Lung was going with this story, and he suddenly began laughing out loud.

Reika's ears stood up on end as her father began laughing hard. "Huh? Father's laughing? What happened? Did you rape somebody's butt!"

Fu-Mai laughed, "You humped them, Setsuna?"

Tai-Lung's face suddenly lit up in a bright blush, "WHAA? NO! NO! Nothing like that!"

Sai-Yue, Asuka and Mitsurugi fell off of their logs with laughter.

Tai-Lung was growling in the back of his throat, feeling every embarrassed. "Nevermind! You damn kids! I can't even tell a personal story without someone laughing at me!"

As Tai-Lung stood up to walk away, he was grabbed by his father.

"Oh calm down son, eat your fish. You'll need the energy. In fact, all of you eat up and all of it." Shen-Mao turned to Asuka, "That counts for you too. You're not my child, but I could still spank your ass."

Asuka's laughter got louder, "Yes yes father, pardon me. Oh, can you teach me how to tie my shoes when you're done checking your blood pressure?"

Shen-Mao laughed, "I'm not purple, blue or whatever the hell color you mutate into, so I think my blood pressure is fine. But if you get any darker purple, my kids are going to try to stomp wine out of you, grape-ape."

Asuka's ears fell back against her head for a moment, but she couldn't resist laughing. "Wow! I've never heard anyone call me that."

Shen-Mao chuckled, "I'm an ass. But what Setsuna was trying to say was that he gave Master Tigress a bit of _extra,_ paralysis while everyone else was down for the count."

Sai-Yue's tail began to twitch, "Extra _attention_, do tell? Did you _pafu-pafu_? Or perhaps _hero-hero?_?"

Tai-Lung's cheeks were red, and he was quiet hardly even taking kitten sized bites of his fish or rice cake.

Reika leaned over towards her brother. "Hey you, you're quiet." And Tai-Lung didn't reply, or even meet her gaze. "I think he put his piece in her mouth."

Tai-Lung pulled himself away from his _middle_ sister. "Gah-! What are you saying?"

Fu-Mai giggled, "Did you use your mouth, or your fingers older brother?"

Tai-Lung gasped, "Whaaat! No!"

Mitsurugi's turn had come and he laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Oh, I get it. You're like me right older brother? Just TAKE what you want." He spoke while grinning at Asuka, who purred and snapped her fangs at her mate.

Tai-Lung yanked his shoulder free. "Take! Well … uh... I uh..."

Shen-Mao was still laughing, now lying on his back behind Tai-Lung, getting beaten in the throat by Tai-Lung's nervously swinging tail.

Sai-Yue grinned, "Her breasts? Does Ryoko have breasts? Did you play with those? You know girls love that."

"I- … I KNOW! And I... uh... NO! I didn't do any of that!" Tai-Lung finally roared out.

"None of it?" All the kids said at once.

"None..." Tai-Lung sighed deeply.

Asuka strolled over to Tai-Lung and placed her hands on his shoulders. "She's pregnant, isn't she?"

Shen-Mao began coughing at how hard he was cackling, but Tai-Lung gasped like he'd just eaten a moldy rice cake doused in sour curry.

"GAH! Heaven forbid that devil woman has any children!" Tai-Lung protested. "I'm not as skillful as running away from kids as my father is."

Shen-Mao cleared his throat while sitting up, "You're not too good at running away either Juggernaut." He said while prodding Tai-Lung's massive football shoulders. He was clearly the most muscular here. Even Mitsurugi, who was still a muscular feline, was toned like a Shadow Hunter would be, and not large like a boulder juggling showman.

"So?" Sai-Yue interrupted, "What DID you do to Master Tigress, sense you're not speaking a word about it. You didn't slide it between her feet-paws did you?"

Tai-Lung was shocked. "Whaaaa? P-people do that!"

Shen-Mao unintentionally coughed, which managed to get him punched in the head by Tai-Lung, who doesn't want mental images.

Sai-Yue smiled and sat down, "Alright then older brother. Tell us. What did you at the Tigress do?"

Tai-Lung held a serious expression on his face. "I … kissed Tigress." He exhaled deeply, feeling accomplished.

The rest of his siblings were literally speechless, even Fu-Mai, who would have something to say about _anything._

Shen-Mao was holding his face, and laughing. "Yeah, but you practically cried like a _kitten _when she grabbed you and kissed you back."

Tai-Lung's sense of accomplishment bled away swiftly as the laughs began to generate again. "H-hey! How did-"

"Did you forget that I was trapped in your head since you were seven? I saw and knew _everything_, sometimes I knew it before YOU did. And you forgot that she was a powerful warrior, even though she was female, and you stroked her the right way. She was unconscious yes, but her body knew what to do, and it knew what _she_ wanted. I could smell it."

"Wooooooooooooooooooooo!" Tai-Lung could hear from behind him, his brother and sisters began jeering on the situation.

Tai-Lung snarled, "Look you old lecher-" Tai-Lung barely had time to even point a finger at his father before he found himself in a sudden headlock by the old man.

"Shhhhh, Setsuna. You need to eat, there's no reason to be embarrassed about partially violating Master Tigress, it's not rape if she enjoys herself."

This time, before Shen-Mao could react, he was sent flying into a tree by Tai-Lung breaking free of his hold.

"I-DID-NOT-MATE-TIGRESS!" Tai-Lung roared out, stomping at each word.

"Whoa," Mitsurugi approached Tai-Lung, "Setsuna. It's ok, chill out. We're only playing with you, but if you love this woman so much, where is she now? Shouldn't she be at your side?"

Tai-Lung was quiet, "I don't … love, Tigress. It was just impulse to kiss her."

"Impulse?" Sai-Yue laughed, "You mean instinct. You were attracted to her without really even knowing it. I'm actually surprised you _didn't_ mate with her. I mean, she was paralyzed, but fighting back. That's like sleep sex with occasional biting."

Tai-Lung shook his head, "How can I love a woman I know nothing about?"

Shen-Mao rose from the tree he had been discarded against, "It's how I met your mother. I told you that. She saved me from death and I saved her from dying. Eye for an Eye in a sense, but after we helped each other survive, we fell in love and the rest is history. You and Tigress may not be one now... But fate will eventually drag you two together, probably when you least expect it."

The snow leopard tyrant was very quiet, but he laughed. "Perhaps." And with that, he sat down and began to finish his rations, as well as everyone else.

...

...

...

Things were quiet for a few minutes, almost an hour, as the children finished their rations, they all rose one by one to begin a morning stretching routine. Shen-Mao had begun going through various stances of his martial arts practice, which to his surprise, none of his children had really seen before. His girls, Mitsurugi and Asuka were all trained to be assassin's, so they were subtle and deadly. Their techniques were mostly weapon based and incredibly fast, to cripple your opponent with blinding speed. Tai-Lung on the other hand was a Kung Fu Master, therefore his Leopard Kung Fu relied mostly on his ferocity, to guide his monstrous fists and strength into the defenses of his opponent, to cripple and break down his enemy with power and skill, a lot like Tiger Style Kung Fu would yield. Although Shen-Mao's, Shorin-Ryu Karate was something they hadn't had a chance to partake in. Shen-Mao fought with open palms, instead of closed fists. To his kids, it was strange, but new and fun. Even Asuka had to join in the line of initiate Karate Masters as Shen-Mao began to demonstrate simple Karate techniques to Tai-Lung and Sai-Yue, and before he knew it, all of them were following in his example and steps, practicing Karate, instead of Kung Fu or Ninjutsu.

"Father?" Sai-Yue asked after all the stretching was over.

"Yes? What is it?" Shen-Mao responded, turning to his eldest daughter with a warm smile on his face.

"Are you alright? A while ago we thought you were breaking down and going to return to Adamesk but … you seem to be fine, perfect in fact." She asked with concern.

"Actually yeah, I feel fine. Sai," Shen-Mao said, patting his arms, chest and abs. "Yeah, everything seems to be empowered... I think it has something to do with this fog."

Reika nodded and rolled her toned arms around to finish off her stretching, "Yeah, this fog began creeping up a few weeks ago, and it's been making strange shit appear whenever or where ever we find very high charges of chi or spiritual energy lying dormant... You know, kind of like too many undead spirits hanging around."

"Yaya," Fu-Mai added in, "We've seen some very scary things in this fog, baba."

Shen-Mao paused to think, "I think I know how you all feel. This fog is … very different." Shen spoke while waving a paw through a very visible, low hanging cloud. "It's not normal, so far it's been making me feel less like dying. I feel it's rejuvenating me or something like it."

"Rejuvenating" Sai-Yue, turned to Shen-Mao. "You mean like... life. Right?"

"Yeah, why?" Shen asked, looking around at the others. "Something I need to know?"

Asuka stood up, "Well... we don't talk about it much, but we've seen some very weird stuff as Reika so quaintly put it." She spoke, glancing off to one side as if she didn't want to really continue talking about what they'd seen in the fog. Although Reika grunted, hating whenever anyone pointed out her swearing. She liked that she was mean, hardly anyone ever noticed though.

Tai-Lung spoke up before Asuka could continue, "So … what did you see? Something horrible?"

Asuka then continued, "Well we've seen the living dead, or as much as you could describe of them..."

Shen-Mao raised an eyebrow. "The living dead? What are you talking about?"

Fu-Mai shook her head, and shivered. "They were soooo disgusting! Gross! Nasty!"

"Yeah," Sai-Yue added. "What we saw was something like … a corpse or at least it looked like a corpse. But it was clearly alive – _and screaming _… Twisting and writing in pain, and covered in these … these purple... _carrion beetles_... "

Mitsurugi nodded, "Leeches, Roaches, Mosquitoes, Scarabs, Millipedes, Maggots, Night Crawlers … a lot of nasty little bugs, crawling all over this … white, fleshy … body, tearing holes into it and burrowing into it's skin."

"What!" Shen-Mao's mind was expanding, hearing the strange news of the fog. "How? Could that be? I mean, I know I'm dead but … I have a god as my excuse... But what god would bring someone back, covered in ravenous insects?"

Sai-Yue shook her head, "I don't really know. But, it was a disturbing sight. We fled from it."

"You didn't kill it?" Shen asked, while trying to match a picture to the description he'd heard, but was coming up with nothing.

Sai clearly began to shiver, "We didn't want to get near it, and you should know that Shadow Hunters don't leave their weapons and tools behind, father. That means we'd probably have to touch the damn thing, and none of us were looking forward to something like that."

Shen-Mao nodded, understanding that this creature must have been a horrible sight if his hard-balled daughters didn't want to get near them. Even Mitsurugi and Asuka were quiet and distant, probably rebuilding the horrible sights of whatever monsters they encountered, and as if on cue they began shivering to shake off the creepy sense of the creatures being near by.

Mitsurugi nodded, "I could smell the death, traveling in the fog for a couple miles... Being carried by these strange vapors, and I knew that there was a lot more than just that one single twisting, shouting demon that we saw."

"Well I suppose it's a good idea you ran..." Shen-Mao nodded, laughing at himself mentally for sounding like a dad. "I can't say, in my travels, that I've seen something like that, but I suppose we need to keep that in mind … Well, where did you see the creature, so we can be sure which areas _not_ to go near."

Sai-Yue sighed, and pointed off into the distance. "North, father. We saw them further north..."

"Crap..." Shen-Mao began laughing, "So let me think, there's Shou-Lie Ying-Ying, of _both kinds_, common bandits and murderers, fog as far as the eye can see, and now _zombies_. This month has been getting better and better, and ever sense this fog has rolled in, I've been feeling stranger."

"Well," Sai-Yue cut in, "If you're going to go see Mama at the Sanctuary, then we're going with you."

"I thought you wanted to take me and Tai-Lung to Yue." Shen asked, standing up while taking one of Sai-Yue's a map in his paw.

"We are … eventually, but first we'll help you. Then you'll come with us. Deal?" Sai-Yue said, approaching her father with her paw extended.

Shen-Mao took his daughters paw in hand, shaking it firmly. "I suppose, but are all of you really in agreement on this?"

Sai smiled, "Why ask me? Ask them." She said while directing attention to her two sisters, two brothers, and one friend. And so Shen-Mao did ask, and all that came back were nods, and agreeing gestures. Asuka wasn't related to Shen-Mao directly, but even she was willing to help him, in apology for nearly killing him earlier on. Reika and Fu-Mai would follow Sai-Yue wherever she went, so they were surely in on this ordeal. Mitsurugi was fearless and would accompany his family no matter where they ventured, but his sense of survival and genius level I.Q. kept him out of harms way when shit hit the fan, which it often did.

The last head to agree was Tai-Lung, he wasn't going to get used to his family being within touching range anytime soon, it would take some months, but there was nothing else for him to really do, and Shen-Mao had kept his promise to follow him to prove that he cared. That counted for something … So in short, Tai-Lung had no choice but to agree and follow his father to Mongolia. Not to mention, he would then get a chance to meet his missing mother.

* * *

"Hey! We CAN WALK! Let us down!" Crane squawked furiously while strapped to his square crucifix. "Let us down! We're not going to run away!"

"Men can hardly be trusted to birth a healthy female, how can we trust men to even walk properly, none the less in the Mongolian snow. It's preposterous." Ai-Yori responded.

"Wha!" Crane mumbled, "What are you talking about? We're not even walking! I hardly know what we're doing, but we don't need to be confined like this.

Ai-Yori laughed, "Silence. This is the ensure that you four aren't harmed by our chi as we return to the sanctuary."

Ai-Yori was referring to the Ice Flow that was traveling under the feet of the few hundred assassins that had abducted the Furious Five and allies. A formation of five assassins were channeling their Ice chi towards the ground under their feet, this put a solid layer of slick ice under the feet of the assassins and everyone following. It served as an incredibly quick way to travel in the colder regions since this _Ice Flow _technique had transformed a week of traveling into four hours immediately.

"This constant flow of chi, be it fairly weak, would kill you by exposure alone if you're not an _Ice Acolyte." _Ai-Yori commented with a chuckle, turning back to peer at Crane, smiling from under his hat.

The White Crane wasn't too pleased that his hat had again been defiled by someone else, but at least it wasn't graffitti, or genitals touching it this time. It was just a murderer and sadly, that was comforting . . . compared to the last two options. Ai-Yori promised to return his hat after they arrived but who could trust the word of these assassins...

"You think so huh?" Crane huffed. "I'm not entirely the most saavy chi wielder, but I do know that exposure to chi can't kill you..."

"You're starting to contradict my first impression of you Master Crane. Chi _can_ kill you with just it's exposure... Haven't you ever heard the saying '_Steam can burn hotter than Fire?'" _Ai-Yori laughed from the front of the line.

"Of course I have! But both Steam _and_ Fire can be defeated with a swift hand, and a strong will!"

"Hmmm I suppose. But I'm not letting you loose, I trust you won't run, but I'm not going to have you four getting exhausted before you return to the sanctuary."

"What are you talking about! We're not weaklings! We're Kung Fu Masters! . . . well, most of us. But we're not useless. We can do anything!"

"Oh you've got that right, Crane!" Mantis finally chimed in from his sphere, which was being carried in the paws of a random assassin like it was the holy hand grenade. "We can do _a lot,_ and when I say _a lot,_ ladies I DO mean **A-LOT!**"

Monkey began laughing from his crucifix which was being carried behind Crane's. "You know we're screwed, right Mantis?"

"Is that a bad thing? Wait... how are you implying '_Screwed'_." Mantis responded.

"Well, probably the opposite of what we normally imply, but lets ask the emperor's gift to martial arts about the situation huh?"

"The Panda? Good idea." Mantis laughed, which was the only way he could deal with his tiny enclosed space. "Hey Po! How '_Awesome'_ is this situation?"

The Dragon Warrior was complaining instead of chattering, his crucifix was the last in the line, since he was behind Monkey, but he was only in the middle of the horde. "Man, I'm so hurgy... I'm starving... I'm ravenous, I'm famished... I'm-"

"Ugh! He's gone man..." Mantis sighed, "Oh well. More for me!"

"Wait!" Po shouted, obviously not speaking to the assassin's carrying him and his comrades because they didn't listen to him, and continued on their journey following the ice flows created by Ai-Yori and the other assassins.

"He's awake." Monkey chuckled.

"What's wrong Po?" Crane asked from the front of the line.

"I have a question for Mantis." The Dragon Warrior confessed.

"This isn't grade school, Po..." Crane sighed, "You don't have to ask permission, just ask."

"Well … if … we're all gunna get... You know." Po began speaking lighter and lighter.

"What?" Mantis chirped. "Say what? Speak up Dragon Warrior!"

"Well uh... You know, when we get to... where we're going, and we get to doing . . . what's we're. . . doing. . . How are uh. . . "

Crane sighed, "I think he's asking how you're going to '_mate', _Mantis."

Mantis began laughing from inside his orb, while Monkey turned his head to one side, to glance towards the front of the line. "Uh … yeah man. That's a good question. How _are_ you gunna sew your wild oats?"

Crane, Po and Monkey all fell silent as Mantis continued to laugh.

"Guys!" Mantis chuckled, "I'm a Kung – Fu – **Master**! What kind of Master would I be if I never figured out how to _get off_, without removing my own head?"

"Dude-" Monkey now began to laugh.

"As creepy as it sounds, it's a good point. I don't have to remove my head but I suppose that would be something you'd want to bypass when the time comes." Crane half-laughed, thinking about the absurdity of the situation.

"Oh yes, Master Mantis has that little problem handled, as a matter of fact, it was handled when I was 12."

"Dude-!" Monkey began laughing harder. "12? Why?"

Mantis chirped from inside his orb, "Yeah, my father would constantly kick my door in once I began _making music_, as we call it, and tell me I'd better stop doing that in the house or I'd grow hair on my knuckles and stuff."

"Are you serious?" Po paused. "Hairy knuckles comes from that!"

Crane rolled his eyes, "Po- . . . it's a figure of spee-"

"Is that where chest hair comes from?" Po shouted.

Viper, who was being carried by assassins in the front of the line, finally opened her mouth. "You... _can't,_ be serious Po."

Mei-Ling was present but she was silent... she didn't want to speak after leaving Sun-Lo and Hou-Xin's grave.

"Uh..." Po chuckled.

"Not specifically from _that!"_ Mantis laughed, "No."

"What about back hair?" Po questioned.

"Not fron that!" Monkey interrupted.

"Foot hair?" The Dragon warrior questioned for the third time.

"Hobbit feet? Uh..." Crane shook his head. "I'm not sure."

Ai-Yori laughed, "Your friend isn't very well educated in the opposite sex is he?"

Crane shook his head, "He's like … 18, give him a break. Wait... PO! How old are you?"

The Dragon Warrior held up his paws and began counting on his fat fingers, reaching '_6'_ by the time Ai-Yori noticed something was wrong.

"He's breaking free!" The corgi shouted, "Subdue him!" Then in a sudden flurry of snow and claws, Po's paws were re-cemented to his crucifix.

Crane was amazed at how suddenly Ai-Yori Yoshi would attack him and his allies if they suddenly fell out of line. His friends had been chattering amongst themselves for a good hour or two and not once had she commanded they they stop talking, even if she would have had the right to . . . but the moment Po's paws were free from their binds, Ai-Yori's assassins dove on him like vultures to a stinky corpse. Crane was worried that escape would probably be impossible with that type of vigilance and horde management. The women also appeared to listen to Ai-Yori without retaliation, which meant they were endlessly loyal and would probably stop at nothing to capture them if they escaped. . . If what Shen-Mao had said about the Shadow Hunter's was completely true, then Crane might have walked and talked his allies into a literal life of slavery with no escape . . . The chance of freedom was slim to none, but the only option of escape, in Crane's mind, was if Tigress returned. She _is,_ a Shadow Hunter after all therefore she would have an edge in this type of situation where Crane had none.

Silence returned to the group, but after a short while it was broken by Mantis.

"Hey, Monkey." The green insect called from his orb.

"Huh? What's up?" Monkey replied, glancing around to the gray blizzard condition sky.

"What were you talking about earlier man … you know, when you said '_We were screwed'_."

"Oh." Monkey laughed, "Well I wanted to talk about it in private but … what I mean is... We're in Mongolia … Right?"

"I suppose, I mean I haven't seen a damn thing for a couple of hours, and it's starting to smell like me in here, if you know what I mean." Mantis chirped from inside his bowling ball.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I'd break you free if I could."

"It's cool man, it's cool. Just say what's on your mind." Mantis sighed lightly.

"Well, think about it... Tigress is gone. We've been reduced to four of five... Which the first act by the Furious Four was being captured and becoming sex slaves."

Viper huffed, and Monkey corrected himself. "The _men_, became sex slaves. Which is... uh, bad. But seriously, we're all the way in Mongolia. Master Shifu has NO-IDEA where we are. It's not like he could send anyone to rescue us."

Crane listened on as Mantis let what Monkey was saying sink in. He hummed from inside his prison for a moment before responding. "You're right..."

"Yeah..." Monkey sighed. "We could be screwed. I mean, we normally had a way out, when it was five of us. Someone usually had a bright idea right?"

"Tigress." Crane admitted, "It was Tigress, she always had a plan." He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry I'm a terrible leader."

"Dude-" Monkey interrupted, "We're not saying you're a bad leader, this was your first day. You'll get plenty of time to perfect your plans when you're on your back, fertilizing eggs."

Crane's sense of self pity was instantly thrown out as he got a visual image of himself on display for snu-snu. "T-thanks for... your kind words." The Crane sighed deeply. "Oh boy..."

"So seriously Monkey," Mantis returned his attention to his long time ally. "Is that what's on your mind? That we'll never get back to China to tell Shifu that we're sorry for not getting home before dark?"

"Well no, not entirely that... but... With this chi traveling, we've traveled at the speed of flight, by land... If anyone was even partially worried about finding us; there would be no chance they would guess that we had been relocated by thousands of miles on the Icicle Highway."

"Eh..." Mantis thought. "Ice huh... I didn't know what the hell was going on. So we've moved miles already? It's only been a few stinky hours of solitude and warm hands for me."

"Yeah, lucky you..."

"Aw don't worry, you'll get plenty of other warm things here pretty soon." Mantis laughed, it was the only way to keep himself from worrying in the dark.

Po on the other hand began fidgeting. "Warm something? What is it? Food? Something delicious!"

Monkey rolled his eyes, "Pie, Po. It's Pie."

"Oh goodie!" The Dragon Warrior began to glow with a bright smile. "I can't wait to have some of that warm delicious Pi-"

"PO!" Crane shouted, "Just... stop, ok. Just... stop." Crane exhaled deeply.

"But I'm so hungry..." The Panda complained, "Miss Leader? How long until we get to eat?"

Ai-Yori turned to glance back at Po, grinning from under Crane's hat again. "We're already here..."

"Shit, already?" Monkey blurted out, but noticing that he swore he covered his mouth with his hands. "My bad ladies."

Ai-Yori's eyes lit on fire as she roared and pointed an accusing finger at Monkey. "HE'S FREE! GET HIM!"

Monkey was puzzled until he glanced down at his unbound hands and chuckled lightly. "I-I've been free for like 30 minutes... I'm sorry. No wait! Don't! Stop! AHH!"

As the assassins closed in on Monkey like he was on fire, Crane exhaled deeply, watching his warm breathe generate mist in the chilly Mongolian air and he thought to himself . . .

'_There's no fog here in Mongolia... I thought all of China was swept with fog...' _

_

* * *

_

Shifu sneezed loudly at his table, covering his mouth with a handkerchief that was lying around. "Gah, excuse me." He sniffled.

"You should bundle up," Zhan said, passing Shifu a bowl of soup towards the Master. "Your winter weather is going to make everything a lot colder here for a few days."

"Perhaps you're right," Master Shifu responded, accepting the soup and raising it slightly above his head in thanks, a bad habit he managed to pick up from Shen-Mao. "But first, I'm going to need you to tell me more about the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying."

"About them?" Zhan paused suddenly, "W-why? What do you want to know?"

"I wanted to know what you knew about them... Their habits, their activities, perhaps the location of their home and or sanctuary?"

Zhan sighed deeply, "Oh no. No, I don't know much about where they are located, just what they look like and what they do, and you know what they look like. You should ask the lady here, sense she _is_ one of them." The ocelot said, referring to the Corgi sitting at the table with him and the Kung Fu Master.

'Heads Up!' Li-Tang said as she passed the table of Shifu, Yoshi and Zhan, causing the three of them to duck someone's large order tray.

"Well then," Shifu said, turning his attention to Yoshi, who was watching Li-Tang walk away as if she were coated in gold. "Um … Ma'am?"

"Huh?" Yoshi's attention was regained in a visible snap. She turned her head so swiftly Shifu and Zhan could have sworn that her neck was made of rubber to survive the speed. "Were you talking to me?"

Shifu paused for a long moment, only blinking instead of talking. But he quickly recovered, "Um … Yes. I wanted to know more about the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying, and their activities … and where they might be."

Yoshi thought for a long moment, "I think … The Shou-Lie Yin-Ying are in Mongolia … but the Sanctuary moves around so it's hard to find it exactly."

"Whaat?" Zhan said, while magically blowing his soup at the same time. "Your home moves? In the snow? Like a person?"

"Well more like a giant tower on wheels... With cannons, and arrows and magic. But yeah it moves around in the snow all throughout the year, but it does return to where it was built for birth."

"Birth?" Shifu asked, turning his head to one side. "Babies? Who's babies?"

"Well, we are a group of all women, so we kidnap men to-"

"Say no more." Shifu suddenly interrupted, holding up a hand in front of his face. "So, what I have to understand is that Assassins run around the world … killing for money, and hunting mates? Specifically for children?"

Yoshi ran a paw through her hair while thinking, then began to nod. "Yes."

Zhan tilted his head to one side, "So what happens to the male? Do they let him go? Or is he passed around until he's useless?"

"Actually," Yoshi paused as if she was building suspense. "They kill them. After the woman is pregnant, they get rid of the male."

Shifu nodded, "It's exactly how Shen-Mao's book explained it... So things haven't changed in the least."

Yoshi began to glance over her bowl of noodles. "So, why do you want to know so much about the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying? I'm not the greatest wealth of information, I'm actually pretty soft in the head."

Zhan chuckled, "Um, excuse me miss? Nobody things you're stupid. You know a lot of things that we don't"

Shifu nodded, "That's correct. You _are_ a wealth of information, which is wh-"

"No, you're not getting it." Yoshi interrupted both males with a sigh. "I _am_ a little slow... See I'm only _half_ a woman."

Shifu and Zhan were quiet for a moment, expecting Yoshi to continue speaking, but seeing that that wasn't going to happen, Shifu interrupted.

"So, I'm to assume you were being literal about that last statement." He said with a sniffle.

"Yes, I am." Yoshi sighed. "I'm half a woman, the other half of me is leading the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying."

"What?" Shifu held his head, "I thought … that uh..."

"Whatever you heard, you're probably talking about or thinking of a different group. The Shou-Lie Yin-Ying have been breaking off for years, and my other half is leading them."

Zhan nodded, trying to understand. "Alright... So, who is your other half if you don't mind my asking..."

Yoshi turned away to look around the restaurant. "Well, her name is Yoshi as well. Ai-Yori Yoshi, she's everything I'm not."

Shifu wrinkled his brow, trying to contemplate everything coming forth. "So … You... are... not real. Right? Or... you're something not completely real."

"Uh... what?" Yoshi pondered.

Shifu shook his head, "I'm trying to get where you're going with your story."

Zhan began to speak, "I think she means she's like … A duplicate of this other woman. Half the power, half the skill and stuff."

Yoshi scratched her head, "Aaaaactually... Ai-Yori has _all_ the skill. When I said I'm everything she's not … I meant it. She's incredibly strong and skilled at ninjitsu... Me? I'm barely at year one level..."

The Grand Master began to laugh out loud, his short white ears waving in the gentle snow. "Ooooooh! I get it! Literally opposite!"

Yoshi nodded, lowering her ears, slightly embarrassed.

"So... that means that she's probably sharp witted... Hateful and has a face like compost. Right?"

Yoshi sat back, "Um . . . ! No, we look the same actually." She squirmed in her chair for a moment.

Zhan chuckled lightly, "So … what exactly can you tell us, to be more exact?"

Yoshi sighed, "Well … Ai-Yori is the _real_ Yoshi. I'm her duplicate, like a … false sister, but I took everything from her that she didn't want to contain now that she was the leader of the Organization. Such as weakness, fear, doubt, confusion, sickness..."

Zhan and Shifu nodded, listening in. Zhan's ears twitched for a moment, "So what else?" He asked. Taking sips of his meal, finally now that it had cooled to a comfortable temperature. "Is there anything magical or mystical we need to know about?"

Shifu's cringed lightly, "I agree, you … wouldn't have any special power that could find people or anything would you? Like uh... Ai-Yori didn't throw out '_Magical Detection'_ by any particular chance did she?"

Yoshi shook her head, "Uh... nothing like that. But I can tell you where _she_ is... That's about it."

Shifu nodded, "Well that would help … Um, how long will that take?"

"A few minutes," the corgi replied as she placed her paws on her chest and closed her eyes. Both Zhan and Shifu then had to be brought back to the solid fact that Yoshi was only wearing a bra and panties as clothing. They felt like gentlemen for completely forgetting that she was naked up until now. But now that that fact had resurfaced in their minds, it would be hard to _not _trail down to the corgi's very shapely figure.

So before the Ocelot did anything that would get him in trouble, he threw back his meal in only a few seconds, and excused himself from the table. "You'll have to excuse me, I need to check on my shop and see if there's been any deliveries. You know, because of the snow and all ..." Without waiting for a response, he fled the shop.

Shifu on the other hand was stuck without an exit, until his eyes trailed down to his own clothing. "Ah!" He said out loud, "I'll return soon Miss Yoshi, I'm going to head off to get you something to cover yourself up with. My apologies for not doing so sooner. Uh... do you have any suggestions for what you'd normally wear?"

Yoshi's eyes suddenly shot open and she turned to Shifu with a smile. "I'd really _really_, like clothes like Ryoko's..."

Shifu smiled and nodded, "Um, no problem. I'll uh... return soon."

The Grand Master didn't know what to fully think about the entire situation, but his stomach was twisting and turning with worry. He was doing a fantastic job of hiding his worry and fear, but he couldn't fool himself. Inside, he was deeply worried about his students and their friends. If they were lost in the fog, there was a chance they were on their way back to the Valley of Peace right now … but if they were to be attacked by the same thing that Tigress was assaulted by, they could truly be in some trouble. But there was also a chance the group could have been abducted by the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying... and if that were the case they would be impossible to find, even more so in the ever present fog...

Shifu's mind wandered as he returned to the Jade Palace, thinking about Tigress and her wounds, and her clothing. She was chi burned, violently … She could have technically gotten those wounds from anyone who had unlocked and been using their chi. But she claimed that she had been attacked by a ghost... a 'Ghost' … and actual ghost? Could this fog be somehow enabling the dead to return to life and interact with the living? If so, why hasn't Master Oogway returned to the Jade Palace yet? It would be a such a welcome surprise. Although with the contemplation of Tigress' story, Shifu was also hoping that everyone would safely return soon. Or if they actually were captured and in danger; that he'd have the stamina and speed to get to his student's rescue before anything horrible would happen to any of them. He felt insane for placing his hopes in a partially nude assassin, but if she was willing to help there was no point in turning down her good faith, and if it _does_ work … He'd have a lot LESS to worry about.

* * *

The Ocelot swiftly returned to his shop around the same time Shifu's chi snow began to come down slightly harder and windier. The chill wasn't too great, but the downpour was unexpected and there was already a large mound of snow at Zhan's front door, and he would have to shovel it away if he wanted to get inside and warm up … Nothing too hard for him, but it was time consuming …

Only ten minutes later and the snow was out of his front door, the Ocelot entered his shop with a deep huff, exhaling the cold air and breathing in the warm. It was always nice to return to his place of temporary business and temporary home and be greeted with the warm embrace of a heated home. At first glance, one wouldn't be able to guess that anyone but Zhan lived in the fairly spacious shop, but the reason the home was kept so warm was because he truly wasn't alone. The Ocelot shut the front door behind him and chuckled out loud.

"The snow is nice, but it's very cold. I wasn't ready for snow so early, but I suppose if it gets rid of the fog, it's all good." He said, mostly to himself, but he smiled as he heard someone dropping to the floor behind him.

"It's very sudden, and unnatural but I don't think it's harmful." A woman's voice spoke, but Zhan wasn't afraid, and as he turned around, he looked happy to see this new slender, cloaked figure standing before him. She was dressed dark, and covered in robes... like the Shadow Hunters that were now all over the news and the hottest chatter anywhere but she wasn't apart of the Shou-Lie Yin-Ying.

"Shifu created the snow to get rid of the fog. The kids seem to love the snow, and everyone else is just happy they can see." Zhan explained as the cloaked figure before him slowly pulled away her hood, revealing her brown fur, and distinct forehead tattoo and crimson eyes.

"Well I'm not worried about the snow or the fog. No harm will come to us." The woman said with a smile. "How are you feeling? Cold?"

"A little," Zhan said with a smile.

"Want to warm up?" She asked with a sly grin.

Zhan nodded swiftly, "Yeah. I think some hot cocoa would be great! Want some?"

"Uh..." The assassin barely had time to make an alternate suggestion by the time the Ocelot had made his way to the kitchen. "Hah, yeah cocoa sounds fine. Just fine."

She didn't argue or protest, as she followed Zhan to the kitchen, taking a moment to turn back towards the front door at the sound of snow recollecting to block the only entrance and exit. With a smile she ignored the snow and stretched. "Afterwards, how about a nap?"

* * *

_- Quan : _Fist

_- Nan Kan Tou Lu: _Loosely means ' Embarrassing Head/Skull ', a stand in for 'Hard Head' or 'Idiot'

- _Kokou Chi : _Loosely means "Jaws of Death", a stand in for 'Death' chi

* * *

Zhan and Crow ( Assassin ) © Purpleground

( Almost ) Everything else © Dreamworks

* * *

_Reviewer Assistance: _Alright this is for you readers. I've been toying around with the characters for a long long time, and I've always been debating on revealing ( creating ) names for the other Masters as I did Tigress. But I'm interested in hearing what others may have thought of. Because the literal names 'Crane' 'Monkey' 'Mantis' and 'Viper' are too direct to be taken seriously, which would be the only explanation why they would want to be Kung Fu Masters in the first place … You'd be fighting everyday with a name like 'Human' in public schools. So anyways, my question is . . . What are, or what would you like, the first and/or last names of the other Kung Fu Masters?

If there's a lot of names, I suppose I'll pick the best one. Thanks for reading, and if I don't get any replies on what their names could be, I'll think up something. *laughs* I normally do.


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